Report

Learning lessons

Think tank: Adam Smith Institute

Author(s): Sam Watling

July 9, 2024

This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at the UK’s history of bad planning policy.

With a new administration in power, and planning reform firmly on the agenda, Sam Watling writes about what we can learn from the long history of Britain’s planning policy.

Since 1947, and the passage of the Town and Country Planning Act, repeated attempts at centralisation and formalisation of planning policy has been met with fierce resistance.

From Wilson to Cameron, substantial reforms to how and where Britain builds houses has been continually recognised, yet continually curtailed.