The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c. 51) was an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
passed by the Labour government led by
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
. It came into effect on 1 July 1948, and along with the
Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947
Town and country planning in the United Kingdom is the part of English land law which concerns land use planning. Its goal is to ensure sustainable economic development and a better environment. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own pl ...
was the foundation of modern
town and country planning in the United Kingdom
Town and country planning in the United Kingdom is the part of English land law which concerns land use planning. Its goal is to ensure sustainable economic development and a better environment. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own pla ...
.
Today the main statutes in England and Wales are the
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990c 8 is an act of the United Kingdom Parliament regulating the development of land in England and Wales. It is a central part of English land law in that it concerns town and country planning in the United Ki ...
and the
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (c 5) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was promoted by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It substantially reforms the town planning and compulsory purchase framework in t ...
, supported by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) introduced in 2012. In Scotland the main statute is the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, supported by the National Policy Framework. In Northern Ireland it is the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
Content
The Act established that
planning permission
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
was required for land development; ownership alone no longer conferred the right to develop the land. To control this, the Act reorganised the planning system from the 1,400 existing planning authorities to 145 (formed from county and borough councils), and required them all to prepare a comprehensive development plan.
These local authorities were given wide-ranging powers in addition to approval of planning proposals; they could carry out redevelopment of land themselves, or use
compulsory purchase
Compulsion may refer to:
* Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so.
* Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by i ...
orders to buy land and lease it to private developers. They were also given powers to control outdoor advertising, and to preserve woodland or buildings of architectural or historic interest – the latter the beginning of the modern
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
system.
The Act provided that all development values were vested in the state, with £300,000,000 set aside for compensation of landowners. Any land would be purchased by a developer at its existing-use value; after permission to develop was granted, the developer would be assessed a "development charge" based on the difference between the initial price and the final value of the land. This charge was not payable in all cases – for example, cottages for agricultural workers, or limited enlargements to houses, were exempt. These charges were theoretically assessed by the
Central Land Board
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, but it was intended that local district valuers would work with developers to agree a fair value; it was reported in 1949 that "where
chargeis payable, the amount has been agreed by the developer in over 95 per cent of the cases".
[ Lord Madonald, House of Lords, 16 November 1949] Where the landowner refused to sell land at the "undeveloped" price, the Central Land Board had authority to purchase it compulsorily and resell it to the developer.
In order to assist local authorities to carry out major redevelopment, the Act provided for extensive government grants. The Treasury would pay 50% to 80% of the annual expenditure for the first five years, depending on the financial situation of the authority; in exceptional cases, this could be increased to eight years. In areas of significant war damage, the rate was set at 90% of expenditure. After this initial period grants would continue, at a lower rate (50% in war-damaged areas, variable for others), for sixty years. Local authorities were given the power to raise loans to pay for this redevelopment, repayable over the same sixty-year period. Grants of 20–50% were available for related expenditure, such as the cost of acquiring land outside the main redevelopment areas.
Amendments
Later revisions of the Act were legislated in 1962, 1971 and 1990. Whilst the
1990 Act is the current legislation in England and Wales, this Act has been substantially amended and added to, especially in 1991, 2004, 2008 and 2011. Devolution in Scotland has resulted in separate legislation, as has the devolved assembly in Northern Ireland. In 2018 the Welsh assembly consulted on proposed separate Welsh planning legislation.
See also
*
English land law
English land law is the law of real property in England and Wales. Because of its heavy historical and social significance, land is usually seen as the most important part of English property law. Ownership of land has its roots in the feudal ...
References
*''Facts and Figures for Socialists, 1951''. Labour Party Research Department, London, 1950
{{UK legislation
United Kingdom planning law
Local government legislation in England and Wales
Housing in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1947