Planning for the communities of the future

This document represents a first major step in the Government's drive to make our towns and cities more attractive and sustainable, and so reduce the need for development to spread into the countryside.

We must now ensure that the best use is made of the many thousands of previously developed (or "brownfield") sites around the country. Local authorities, English Partnerships and others will have a lead role to play in that work.

Of course, some development will still be needed outside urban areas. The Government wants to ensure that where this happens it is carried out in the most sustainable way to ensure the continuing vitality of rural life, combined with an active approach to the protection of our countryside.

View the document in full here.