Theory and Practice of Development Management

Overview

The course extends over one semester and is structured to provide students with a comprehensive grasp of the key issues, underpinning the theory and practice of development. It will draw upon enacted legislation, circulars, planning, policy guidance, and good practice guides that govern the procedure and processes of plan making and application determination. This will be followed by ‘hands on’ experience of submitting and assessing planning proposals.

In broad terms, the course deals with a number of discrete, though connected, topic areas. The first area upon which attention is concentrated is the distinction between strategy and tactics in the planning process. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that individual techniques are of a maximum practical use when used within framework of the development management process, which is strategic in both its level of thought and cohesive in its internal structure.

The basic subdivision of the planning process into principles phases – survey, analysis and plan making – is taken as a useful framework for structuring the sequence of lectures and practical exercises presented to the student. Each section deals with an important group of development management and forward planning related topics, for example, there are sections on such topics as Retail Impact Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment.

Learning Objectives

1. Gained in depth knowledge of the role of the linkages between forward planning, development control and enforcement.
2. Have come to terms with the core techniques involved in development management.
3. Become aware of the critical importance of the concept of project management and how to manage their time effectively.
4. Have developed the confidence to express ideas and opinions in a public forum.
5. Acknowledge that development decisions have differing impacts on different people, and develop the capacity to identify and explain these impacts so that they can be properly taken into account in planning decision-making.
6. Demonstrate the effective research, analytical, evaluative and appraisal skills and the ability to reach appropriate evidence based decisions.
7. Be able to explain the political and ethical nature of spatial planning and reflect on how planners work effectively within democratic decision-making structures.
8. Be able to debate the concept of rights and the legal and practical implications of representing these rights in planning decision-making process.
9. Recognise the role of communication skills in the planning process and the importance of working in an inter-disciplinary context, and be able to demonstrate negotiation, mediation, advocacy and leadership skills.
10. Distinguish the characteristics of a professional, including the importance of upholding the highest standards of ethical behaviour and a commitment to lifelong learning and critical reflection so as to maintain and develop professional competence.
11. Explain and demonstrate how spatial planning operates within the context of institutional and legal frameworks.

Skills

Students will develop skills which will facilitate an understanding of:

1. The political sensitivity of the planners working environment;
2. Value judgement attached to the decision-making processes;
3. Questions of legitmacy and ethics; and
4. Planner's professional standards.

Assessment

Students must pass all assessment components.