Understanding the Development Jigsaw

The book is a successor to "Playing the Public Inquiry Game" but aims to give an overview of how planning procedures actually function at ground level. It is therefore an essential handbook for professional and lay people wishing to protect the environment from development which is damaging or unsustainable. Readers are shown both how to win their immediate battle, and how to secure their victory in the long term.

It explains in non-technical language, the general principles of mounting a case, and how the procedures, which determine land-use, fit together : development plans, development control, all kind of inquiries, and redress via the Ombudsman, and the Courts. It also looks at the interface between mainstream planning and other regulatory systems : Crown Land; statutory undertakers; local authority development; pollution control; and higways. There are also instes and appendices on a whole range of relevant issues : 1996 re-organisation of local government; costs; surcharging; s.106 planning obligations; environmental information; environmental assessment; Local Agenda 21; the role of Europe; useful addresses; further reading etc. The book is based on practical experience of how to play the system to best advantage, especially if you are an objector.

Many of those participating in discussions over a given development are, in fact, concerned about the long term health of the planet. The last section examines the formidable obstacles in the way of achieving development, both in terms of policy and procedures. However, if we are to survive a doubling of the world's population in the next forty years, we need to overhaul the framework from which project emerge. The book concludes that such fundamental problems require radical solutions.