Negotiating Planning Gains through the British Development Control System

The British planning system provides for the exercise of discretion in the interpretation of policy and at the operational level processing planning applications. That discretionary space is utilised to negotiate, often over the provision of planning gains. Three applications for commercial uses drawn from different parts of England are taken as case study examples. They are examined within the context of an analytical framework which identifies the activity of negotiation, the influences on it and the actors involved. Consideration is given to the influences on negotiation from both the developers' and the local planning authorities' points of view. Factors relevant to the developer include the structure and nature of developer, their interest, the nature of development, the political culture, the nature of the planning gain and the merits of the gain. Similarly, the local planning authority's approach is influenced by organisational procedures, the degree of delegation, the nature of the negotiations and the preparation undertaken. The authors suggest a negotiating frame which shapes the process of negotiation. The article concludes by highlighting the separate but parallel development control and negotiation processes which both demand managing and integrating. The skill to achieve this integration, to handle knowledge of the law and development process and the judgement to assess others' priorities are all demanded of successful negotiators.