The law relating to town and country planning has a major impact upon the physical environment and affects private citizens, landowners and developers alike. This third edition is a comprehensive text for students, practitioners and members of the general public on this difficult area of law.

Following the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the third edition of Planning Law and Practice contains a complete revision of plan-making and the control of development as well as incorporating recent case law. Together this provides up-to-date details of the operation of the current English planning system.

The successful format adopted in the first edition of this book, which was awarded the Gold Award for Best Reference Work by the Chartered Institute of Building in 1999, has been retained. Planning legislation is dealt with in the main chapters, while further chapters use relevant case law to amplify the sometimes complex statutory material. In addition, the book outlines other areas of land law such as European legislation, non-planning controls and public investment.

Claire Freeman is a Professor in Planning in the School of Architecture at Victoria University Wellington, Te Herenga Waka, New Zealand, specialising in environmental planning. Her research interests are in the relationships between people and the environments in which they live.

Etienne Nel is a Professor and Head of the School of Geography at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. His primary research interests are in the areas of urban, economic and regional development and he has undertaken research into these themes in Southern Africa and Australasia.