TOWN PLANNING
Town Planning (urban, city and town planning and also includes regional and/or rural planning) is a technical and political process concerned with the control of the use of land and design of the (urban) environment, including transportation networks, to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities.
It concerns itself with research and analysis, strategic thinking, architecture, urban design, public consultation, policy recommendations, implementation and management. A ‘plan’ can take a variety of forms in a hierarchy including strategic plans, national, regional, county and local development plans, neighbourhood plans, regulatory and incentive strategies for specific geographical areas (masterplans), or historic preservation plans. Town Planners are often also responsible for enforcing, managing and incentivising the chosen policies.
The modern origins of town planning lie in the movement for reform that arose as a reaction against the disorder of the industrial city in the mid-19th century and resulted for example in the ‘garden cities’ movement. In the late-20th century, the term ‘sustainable development’ has come to represent an ideal outcome in the sum of all planning goals i.e. the balanced development of resources to meet the most appropriate and future needs of current and forthcoming generations.
Town Planning has become a generic term which covers both rural and urban areas, coastal and inland areas, lowland and upland areas, public or private lands, and which is usually only defined or restricted by geographical and political location or area. Town Planning and its ethos are often defined by the socially relevant mantras of the day and currently will relate to the positive planning of economic and land resources and regeneration of our economy in the position of a current economic downturn.
The Planning Partnership as professional Town Planning Consultants is primarily planning professionals who are engaged in the delivery of positive planning outcomes whether it be in the involvement in the planning application process (development management), the development plan process or in representing Clients who may have found themselves in difficulty and fallen foul of the planning process i.e. enforcement planning.
The Planning Partnership provides the appropriate planning professionals with a range of experience in dealing with the planning process and can importantly identify and provide other professional skill sets where they are acknowledged as required.
