Glossary (M - P)

This glossary of planning terms is intended to provide a simple guide. It is not a statement of the law, nor does it claim to be an authoritative interpretation of the law.

Material Consideration - a matter which should be taken into account in deciding on a planning application or on an appeal against a planning decision.

Metropolitan - constituting a large urban area, usually including a city, its suburbs and outlying areas.

Mineral Planning Guidance Notes (MPGs) - a series of documents issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) (previously Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR)) setting out government policy and advice on planning issues relating to mineral resources.

Minerals Planning Policy Wales - Document setting out the policy of the Welsh Assembly Government in relation to short and long term future use and safeguarding of mineral deposits.

National Assembly for Wales - Government body in Wales that debates and approves legislation and holds the Welsh Assembly Government to account.

National Nature Reserve - area designated by English Nature to protect and conserve nationally important areas of wildlife habitat and geological formations and to promote scientific research; in Wales it is an SSSI that the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) has designated of national or international importance for nature conservation. (Note: on the CCW website I noticed that they also refer to National Nature Reserves, as well as SSSIs)

National Park - tract of predominantly open and attractive countryside designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 with its own administration and management role and function as a local planning authority.

Nature Conservation - the preservation, management and enhancement of natural plant and animal communities, and occasionally modified vegetation, as representative samples of their kind.

New Town - free-standing new settlement designated and planned under the New Towns Act 1946 and subsequent legislation.

Non-conforming Use - a use which does not conform to the general provisions of the development plan for the area in which it is located.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) - a provision of the Electricity Act 1989 requiring regional electricity companies to take a proportion of their electricity from energy sources other than fossil fuels.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) - (previously Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR)) government department responsible for town and country planning policy and administration.

Outline application - a general application for planning permission to establish that a development is acceptable in principle, subject to subsequent approval of detailed matters.

Out-of-Centre - a location that is separated from a town centre but is not necessarily outside the built-up area.

Out-of-town - an out-of-centre development on a green-field site or on land not clearly within the current urban boundary.

Park and Ride - scheme enabling motorists to leave their vehicles at edge-of-town car parks and travel into town centres by public transport.

Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest (GSHI) - parks and gardens containing historic features dating from 1939 or earlier and registered by English Heritage in three grades as with historic buildings.

Permitted Development Rights - rights to carry out certain limited forms of development without the need to make an application for planning permission, as granted under the terms of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995.

Planning Obligations and Agreements - legal agreements between a planning authority and a developer, or offered unilaterally by a developer, ensuring that certain extra works related to a development are undertaken, usually under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Planning Gain - the principle of a developer agreeing to provide additional benefits or safeguards, often for the benefit of the community, usually in the form of related development supplied at the developer's expense.

Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs) - a series of documents issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) (previously Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR)) setting out government policy and advice on planning issues such as housing, transport, conservation etc

Planning Policy Wales - document setting out the land use planning policies of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Proposals Map - an obligatory component of a local plan showing the location of proposals in the plan on an Ordnance Survey base map.

Protected Species - plant and animal species, including all wild birds, protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats and Conservation) Regulations 1994, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and subsequent amendments, or other species protected under legislation specific to them.

Public Open Space (POS) - land provided in urban or rural areas for public recreation, though not necessarily publicly owned.

Public Realm - outdoor areas accessible to the public.

Public Right of Way - a way where the public has a right to walk, and in some cases ride horses, bicycles, motorcycles or drive motor vehicles, which will be designated either as a footpath, a bridleway, a road used as a public path (RUPP) or a byway.

Purchase Notice - this requires a local planning authority to purchase an interest in land where a planning decision conflicts with the private interests of landowners.