Making Plans: The Role of Evidence in England's Reformed Spatial Planning System

Abstract

This paper explores the use of evidence in the making of local development frameworks in England, introduced as part of the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act. The reforms dictate that for a plan to be considered ‘sound’, the policy choices it contains must be justified through the compilation and use of an appropriate evidence base. The paper draws on research undertaken as part of the UK government-sponsored Spatial Plans in Practice (SPiP) project looking into the operation of the reformed spatial planning system in England. It draws on the findings of a number of reports produced as part of this research on the use of evidence in the making of local development frameworks in England as well as wider components of the SPiP project including interviews with local authority planning officers, documentary review of adopted planning documents (core strategies and area action plans) and a longitudinal suite of case studies covering a number of local planning authorities using both qualitative semi-structured interviews and a strategic survey. The paper finds grounds to believe that, although local planning authorities are collecting more evidence than ever before, the culture of using evidence to inform policy-making is far from a well-established or uniform practice.

Acknowledgements

This article draws upon research undertaken as part of the UK government-funded SPiP project. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the project team including colleagues at CLG, the University of Liverpool, University of Manchester, the University of the West of England and Baker Associates and Terrence O'Rourke, as well as the helpful comments of the three anonymous referees who reviewed this paper.

Notes

The exception is the Essex Minerals DPD, which was at the issues and options stage, for the reason of including a minerals and waste LDF in the research.