Altruistically, each town would have a strategic green transport plan, and an approach to ensure each new piece of development contributes towards that plan.
In practice, what might one expect? What joined up thinking is in place against which local developments are approved?
I'm just thinking how one might get involved in understanding at a local level what is in place, and how one might be able to challenge proposed developments that fall foul of sustainable and environmentally aware development. Bringing in an appropriate pressure group is one aspect, but that would depend upon the type of issue arising. That itself depends upon the standards / plans against which a new development can be assessed.
Part of my job includes road design and its interaction with the planning process. To try to keep it simple:
Your local council produces a
Local Plan which should be on their website. This covers a period of 15-20 years and would typically include both area-wide policies, and "Allocations" (specific bits of land) which are expected to be developed in that timeframe. The Local Plan will be updated every so often via a formal consultation process, including an Examination in Public (which anyone can attend) overseen by an independent Planning Inspector.
Landowners and developers attempt to promote their sites via this process, as once a site becomes an Allocation it makes it much easier to apply for planning permission in due course. The council may also promote its own ideas through the plan, or in some cases safeguard land *against* development.
Example for one which is currently in the consultation stage:
https://beta.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/local-plan Another key consideration is the slightly Soviet
Five Year Housing Land Supply. Every council should, in theory, have a pipeline of land to build new housing for the next five years. In practice, many councils have fallen behind with their supply. When this happens, it becomes easier for developers to achieve permission for poor-quality or badly-located schemes to be given permission as they are "helping" to meet the five-year position.
There are also national policy documents which carry weight when councils make decisions on development. The main ones are:
National Planning Policy Framework
Manual for Streets - this emphasises the importants of streets as places where people live and spend time, rather than just corridors for cars
Design Manual for Roads and Bridges - more relevant for "big" roads rather than local ones.
Finally there are many other protections and designations which can limit how land can be developed, such as:
Conservation areas
Air Quality Management Areas
National Parks
Flood plains
Contaminated land (for brownfield sites)
etc
Further questions/abuse welcome!