Development control: the child that grew up in the cold

Abstract

Development control was not an original feature of British statutory planning as first enacted in 1909. It was conceived from expediency as builders and others sought indemnity for their development on the adoption of schemes. 'Interim development control', as it came to be known, grew in extent and complexity in the inter-war period as more and more of the country was covered by resolutions to prepare schemes, yet few were approved and adopted. During this period, many of the administrative processes of development control took shape, as did its language; indeed much of the practice of this period survived the 1947 Act. Despite its being regarded as the foundation of British planning, in fact it made few changes to the statutory processes of development control. Just as important was a little known piece of legislation enacted in 1943, in which the control of development was extended to the whole of the country. However, throughout this period the practice of development control was scarcely noted in higher professional circles, and its practitioners were treated with scant respect. For this reason, development control may with justification be called 'the child that came in from the cold'.

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