The module is designed to:

1. Provide students with an understanding about the basis of law and the legal principles governing planning practice in England and Wales;
2. Introduce students to the key planning policy instruments used by governments at central, regional and local levels of the planning system;
3. Familiarise students with the range of instruments and controls available to planners to regulate development.

The module is delivered in both the Autumn and Spring semesters. The module comprises a series of lectures in the Autumn semester that primarily address matters of planning law, complemented by some interactive, workshop-style sessions. The material in the Spring semester is focused on understanding the planning policy framework and the practical operation of the development management system. At the end of the module students will have a good understanding of the British statutory planning system.

1. Define the legal principles that form the basis for the control of development by citing relevant statutes and case law in support of reasoned advice given to a client;
2. Explain the relationship between planning law and professional practice by stating the advantages and disadvantages in the operation of and implementation of the law in practice and by making recommendations on desirable changes in law and procedures.
3. Correctly identify and interpret different planning policy documents by defining the relevance of different planning policies to a particular planning decision and balancing the significance of those policies against other material considerations;
4. Explain  the relationship between planning policy and development control by explaining the role and importance of development plans in development control decision-making and assessing the effectiveness of different planning policies.

Learning and teaching comprises of:

• 15 hours of lecture-based sessions addressing planning law.
• 15 hours of lectures, seminars and workshops focusing on interpreting the planning policy framework and the operation of the development management system.

Lectures will include opportunity for interaction and discussion, as well as scope for addressing current issues arising in professional media or live consultations.

The skills that will be practised in this module include:

1. Writing clearly and concisely and producing written material to a professional standard;
2. Expressing arguments orally through contribution to informal group discussion in lectures.
3. Correctly identifying and interpreting case law and applying this to a specific case or situation.
4. Application of legal reasoning and argument, including distinguishing between facts and values.
5. Correctly interpreting sources of planning policy and their relevance to particular circumstances, including judgments on the weight to be applied to different policies.

This first part of the module is assessed by examination at the end of the Autumn semester. The second part of the module is assessed by one item of coursework to be completed in the Spring semester.

Examination.

The examination for this module is scheduled for the end of the Autumn semester. The examination will assess students’ learning for all materials delivered in the Autumn semester, focusing on the planning law components of the module. It assesses students’ attainment of the first two learning outcomes for the module. The module also provides the opportunity to complete a formative, in-class assessment that is designed to support students’ learning and their preparation for the examination. Information will be supplied in scheduled sessions on preparing the formative assessment.

Coursework.

This assignment is designed to assess students’ ability to (a) analyse the interrelationship between the different components of the planning policy hierarchy, and (b) interpret the various factors, including formal policies, that are taken into account in an individual planning decision. Students will review a planning decision and/or appeal decision to evaluate the significance given to competing considerations in reaching a decision.

This assignment is to be undertaken in the Spring semester and a brief will be issued at the beginning of the Spring semester.

A student failing the examination will have opportunity to sit a further examination paper during the summer. A student failing the coursework will have an opportunity to resubmit the coursework during the summer.

• The character of the British planning system: law, policy and practice.
• An introduction to planning law for students of planning
• Development plans
• Definition of development: operations and material change of use
• Listed buildings and conservation areas
• Permitted development
• Enforcement of planning controls
• Planning appeals and inquiries
• Environmental impact assessment
• The role, status and effectiveness of national planning policies
• Planning policy at the regional scale
• The relationship between national planning policy and the local scale
• Supplementary planning documents: uses and status
• Case studies of the planning policy hierarchy: residential and retail
• Deconstructing a planning permission
• Performance management and the development control system
• Professional conduct and planning
• Current issues, debates and challenges for the planning system

The key textbook for this module is Moore, V. 2010. A Practical Approach to Planning Law. Eleventh edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Additional academic reading relevant to individual lectures or workshops will be issued in a separate reading list in that session.

Policy and practice materials will also be used to supplement academic materials. This material is easily accessible via government and related websites and accessed via selected links through Learning Central. References to this material will be issued in individual sessions.

Key additional resources include the Journal of Planning and Environment Law and the Encyclopaedia of Planning Law and Practice. Additional online resources for accessing case law materials will be introduced to students in the module.

 

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