It is the essence of the growth-dependent approach to planning that it considers increases in the prices of land and buildings to be an indicator of success in planning a locality. Yet there are all sorts of buildings, spaces and places that are important to towns and cities and that contribute to the liveability of urban areas and yet have a relatively low economic value. Indeed, because of their lower economic value, they have a particularly important role to play in the lives of lower-income households and can contribute to the sustainability of places in a variety of ways. This chapter looks at what the planning system can do to keep such buildings, spaces and places available to meet the needs of all groups within existing communities, and to improve their quality without losing this availability to lower-income groups.

This chapter begins by looking at how the planning system can protect existing land uses from (re)development where this is needed in order to protect existing communities. It considers the use of planning regulation, both as a direct means of restraining development pressures and as a way of restructuring land and property markets to ensure low-value land uses are not driven out by higher ones. This involves closer consideration of the role of planning regulation and how it is supported by policies in plans, and develops the discussion began in Chapter 7. It then goes on to consider how existing land uses and places can be enhanced. Two aspects are covered: the improvement of building standards including energy efficiency; and the improvement of local areas, including residential and also town centres, with their important retail functions and spaces for SME premises. The chapter concludes by considering policies in relation to vacant land and property, looking at housing, commercial property and sites.

Protecting existing land uses from development pressures

Regulating development proposals

It has been shown that the most problematic aspects of growthdependent planning come to the fore when existing land uses and even communities are displaced by new market-led development. This suggests the need for the planning system to be able to protect these sites, places and neighbourhoods.