MSc Urban Regeneration and Development

This course unit introduces students  to the UK statutory town and country planning systems with a primary focus on the English planning system. Students examine contemporary land-use policy guidance, plan-making and regulatory control systems, and the principles and practices of spatial planning. As a formal regulatory framework, statutory land-use planning systems set the rules under which all those with interests in the future development and use of land must operate and, as a result, give an indication of what can and cannot be achieved through the statutory planning powers and controls developed for each of the four national territories in the United Kingdom. Students learn  that these spatial planning policy frameworks are not static but evolve over time in response to changing political and socio-economic circumstances. The English planning system in particular has been subject to almost constant change over the last decade.

Within these varied and changing arrangements, students learn how planning and related professionals must work towards balancing the needs and demands of different stakeholders , applying policy to development decisions and supporting sustainable development.
 

The unit aims to :

Introduce students to spatial planning concepts and the ability to evaluate and critically examine the operation of the statutory town planning systems in the UK, with a particular focus on the English planning system and law.

Provide students with a framework to critically evaluate how plan policies are identified, developed and implemented and their relationship with development control within differing frameworks of planning law;

Provide students with the skills to analyse and present findings in various formats and to develop practical and professional skills in British planning procedures.
 

Lectures (20 hours) introducing key concepts in planning law, policy and procedures, incorporating short interactive activities such as question breaks, student led discussion, guided interpretation of planning appeals and legal cases. Core materials and guidance are provided online.[RW7.1][MB7.2]

Workshops / Seminars (6 hours) developing applied understanding through structured discussion and small-group tasks of permitted development; planning appeals; legal cases; planning inquiry processes. Supporting materials provided online.

Group based tutorials (4 hours) in preparation for the ‘mock’ planning inquiry (including preparation for written report and inquiry elements). Supporting materials provided online.

Private study (120 hours) including directed reading, preparation for taught sessions; research and drafting for the short article; group working and preparation of written evidence; and argumentation for the mock planning inquiry.
 

Critically evaluate the nature, scope, operation and limits of the English planning system and the key spatial planning concepts that underpin it.
Critically appraise the key tensions between different elements of the English planning system, including the relationship between planning policy and the planning application process.

Critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of specific planning policies and concepts. 

With reference to appropriate policy and other evidence, construct a convincing and coherent, legally-based, argument for or against a planning proposal.

Write critically about complex planning issues to a professional standard. 
gain a practical understanding of the development management and planning inquiry process. 

Communicate via written reports and oral presentations to professional planning and legal audiences.
Construct and defend  robust arguments based on evidence and the application of legal and policy frameworks. 

Group work: 'Mock' Planning Application and Inquiry, Written report (2500 words maximum) and 5 minute presentation - Weighting 30%.

Individual assignment: Short article (1000 words maximum) -  Weighting 70%. 

Written feedback will be provided following assignment submission and group presentation.

Bowes, A (2019) A Practical Approach to Planning Law (14th ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Sheppard, A., Peel, D., Ritchie, H. and Berry, S. (2019) The Essential Guide to Planning Law: Decision Making and Practice in the UK, Policy Press, Bristol.

Sheppard, A., Croft, N. and Smith, A. (2019) The Short Guide to Town & Country Planning (2nd Ed.)

Cullingworth, J.B. & Nadin, V. (2014) Town and Country Planning in Britain (15th Edition). Routledge, Abingdon

Greed, C. with Johnson, D. (2014) Planning in the UK – An Introduction. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Haughton, G & Allmendinger, P (2014) Spatial Planning and the New Localism, Routledge, Abingdon.

Hall, P. & Tewdwr-Jones, M. (2010) Urban & Regional Planning (5th edition), Routledge, Abingdon

A problem with all textbooks is that they tend to become out of date quite quickly in respect of legislative and/or policy changes. For the most up-to-date details, it is therefore necessary to be familiar with relevant sections of the government website of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and other relevant bodies and organisations such as the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). 

Information
Historical perspectives, legal administrative and institutional frameworks for UK planning
- EU institutions and policy frameworks
- National, regional and sub-regional planning policy in the UK
- Forward Planning and Local Development Frameworks in England
- Supplementary Planning Documents and Neighbourhood Plans
- Introduction to development control
- Making planning applications
- Determining planning applications
- Role of negotiation: Planning gain
- Operating the system - enforcement, appeals and inquiries
- Mock public inquiry
- Special forms of control
- Contemporary changes and developments