1st Edition

Thatcherism and Planning The Case of Simplified Planning Zones

By Philip M. Allmendinger Copyright 1997
    205 Pages
    by Routledge

    205 Pages
    by Routledge

    First published in 1997, this volume explores how, seventeen years after the election of the first Thatcher government, it is clear that despite the attacks, land use planning has survived. Talk during the 1980s of the death of planning and a bonfire of controls seem in hindsight distant and alarmist. Planning now has a new lease of life and is once again firmly on the government’s agenda. So what happened during the 1980s? How did planning come to experience such a radical change in fortune? Philip Allmendinger explores the impact and influence of the New Right’s intentions for planning through arguably the most Thatcherite approach of all: Simplified Planning Zones (SPZs). In doing so he identifies the contradictions and confusion at the heart of Thatcherism that led to vague legislation and objectives allowing localities to interpret Thatcherism for themselves often using policies such as SPZs for reasons very different than those intended.

    1. Introduction. 2. Implementation and the Scope for Autonomous Local Politics. 3. Thatcherism. 4. Thatcherism and Planning. 5. The Origin and Evolution of Simplified Planning Zones. 6. The Birmingham SPZ. 7. The Slough SPZ. 8. The Derby SPZ. 9. The Cleethorpes SPZ. 10. Conclusions.

    Biography

    Philip M. Allmendinger

    ’This book is the only authoritative account of one of the most significant New Right planning initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s. It is highly recommended to anyone wishing to achieve a full understanding of British planning since the 1980s.’ Professor Huw Thomas, University of Wales, UK ’...usefully explores the simplified planning zone (SPZ) concept.’ Town Planning Review