Reports
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1968.tb01174.x |
| Date | 01 January 1968 |
| Published date | 01 January 1968 |
REPOltTS
A
NEW
CONTEXT
FOR
PLANNING
FACED
with the prospect of seventeen-and-a-half million extra
people in Great Britain by the year
2000
a
and eighteen million cars
by
1975
*
the Government has produced
a
White Paper
on
Town
and Country Planning.' Most of the suggestions are not contro-
versial, one is controversial;
it
remains to be seen whether even
taken together, they will plan us
on
to happier terms with the extra
cars
or
the extra people.
First, the lesser proposals.
In
order to reduce the time lapse
between a planning appeal and the decision
on
it
the White Paper
suggests that the Minister of Housing and Local Government
should be given powers
to
delegate responsibility for deciding
certain appeals to selected inspectors.6
It
is proposed that appeals
involving
"
single houses and residential development
on
small
sites, small groups of shops, caravan sites
of
less than one acre, and
other
minor
forms
of
development
"
should be decided by the
inspector.
His
decision could possibly be given within two to three
weeks
of
the hearing.a
If
inspectors spent less time writing reports
to
the Minister they could spend more time
on
hearing and deciding
appeals.' Since over the past five years the Minister has agreed
with
his
inspectors' recommendations in
97.5
per cent. of cases
lo
the suggestion is a sensible one.
At present enforcement proceedings cannot be taken against un-
authorised development which has continued for four years.l'
The White Paper says that the Government intend to abolish the
"
four-year rule."
la
This is going too far. The time limit should
be extended to, say,
six
years as in tort and
ont tract.'^
A
prudent purchaser
of
real property asks
in
inquiries before contract
whether any development as defined in the
1962
Act has been car-
ried out
on
the property
or
made since July
1,
1948.
If
the vendor
says there has been none then the purchaser who completes the
purchase and against whom an enforcement order is made could
sue
his
vendor within six years of the misrepresentation for damages
1
Heading to para.
6.
White
Paper
on
Town and Country Planning
1967
(Cmnd,
3333).
a
para.
6.
5
para.
7.
4
Supra.
*
In England, the Secretary of State in Wales and Scotland.
6
para.
36.
There were just under
12,000
ap eals in
1966,
more than half of
them involvin a Eublic inq$ry (para.
S2f
pars.
37.
8
are.
34.
It %as taken an average of
six
rnynths
to
obtain
a
gearing
of
an
appeal (para.
34)
and the Minister
takes
three month8
or
more"
to
obtain his inspector's report and make
his
decision (para.
38).
p
para.
118.
10
para.
33.
11
8.
45
(a),
Town
and Country Planning Act
1963
("
1962
Act
").
1s
para.
45.
13
Limitation Act
1999,
8.
2
(1)
(a).
at times
55
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