Paper short abstract:

Beginning with the Town Planning Act 1909, this paper charts the legal evolution of Town Planning in the early 20th Century, demonstrating how this legislation integrated urban and rural environmental concerns into one system of administrative land management: the Town and Country Planning system.

Paper long abstract:

When we think of environmental land management in England and Wales it is easy to point to the heroes; the National Park and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (NPACA), the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the Environment Acts to name but a few. Yet hero stories do not always give the most honest reflection of reality. As Ursula Le Guin suggested in her ‘carrier bag theory of fiction’ we need to dethrone such heroes to see the truer (legal) story which lies beneath. Using this methodology, this paper explores the origins of Town and Country Planning legislation at the beginning of the 20th Century, demonstrating how this legislation integrated urban and rural environmental concerns into the growing system of administrative land management which became the Town and Country Planning system.

Beginning with the first Town Planning Act in 1909, this paper charts the legal evolution of Town Planning legislation, leading to the first of these hero Acts: The NPACA 1949. In doing so, the paper denotes the integration of urban environmental concerns and a growing consciousness about countryside spaces with pressing social issues, including housing and health. In doing so, these early town planning acts embed ideas of environmental protection into the psyche of town planning and local government administration. The history of Planning Law is often overlooked, yet, as this paper demonstrates is crucial to understanding modern environmental protection laws.

This is part of a broader doctoral project exploring the legal history of national parks.