LAW8147 : Introduction to Planning law
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Anna McClean
- Owning School: Newcastle Law School
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The aim of the module is to provide you with an understanding of the town and country planning law of England. It covers the law relating to local planning authorities, considering how they make decisions and how their decisions can be challenged. It focuses on the legislation, case law, and planning policy relevant to environmental management by local planning authorities. You will explore the legal obligations that require local planning authorities to manage the environmental impacts of development and the legal planning tools that are available to them to fufill these obligations. You will develop the skills to critically analyse these legal obligations and tools and identify the extent to which they provide for effective environmental management. The module will inspire you to engage with the political debates regarding the town and country planning regime and introduce you to judicial interpretation of planning law and the role of the courts in controlling local authorities in the exercise of their planning powers.
Outline Of Syllabus
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
*An introduction to planning law
*Development plans
*The requirement for planning permission
*Determination of planning applications
*Environmental impact assessment
*Conditional planning permission
*Developer contributions
*Environmental obligations on local planning authorities
*Challenging local planning authority decision-making
*Proposed and recent developments in planning law
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | Present-in-person lectures on the substantive module content (Teaching Weeks 1-10) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 1 | 9:00 | 9:00 | Present-in-person sessions in which students undertake prescribed work with staff present to advise and answer queries (Teaching Weeks 2-10) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Member of staff available for guidance and consultation on assessment preparation (Teaching Week 11) |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 78 | 1:00 | 78:00 | Students to undertake necessary reading and research to complete the module, in particular the workshop reading and preparation tasks and the assessment. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Introduction to the module (Teaching Week 1) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Concluding/revision/assessment preparation session (Teaching week 11) |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures are used to introduce students to the key concepts in town and country planning law. The first lecture will introduce the course to the students and provide them with an introduction to planning law. The final lecture will be a revision/assessment preparation lecture to provide guidance to the students on the assessed coursework. Weekly lectures will deliver the substantive course content. Following each lecture, students will undertake independent reading and preparation of set tasks in preparation for the weekly workshops which will provide a forum for students to discuss the topics covered in the lectures in greater depth and help develop the skills necessary for successful completion of the assessment. The lectures and group discussion sessions will be complemented by a 1 hour drop in/surgery to provide students with the opportunity to ask questions relating to the course content, study skills, and the assessment.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | M | 100 | 2000 words |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The assessment will require students to analyse and evaluate the law relating to the role of planning law in implementing environmental protection. It will require students to engage research, interpretation and evaluation skills, and construct and communicate their argument with care and precision. The discussion sessions have been designed to focus on development of the skills necessary to do this.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- LAW8147's Timetable