Doing Business in Thailand

This is a post which merit your attention even if not directly related to Thailand. Indeed the author is discussing issues related to the histoy of Urban Planning and one knows how Urban Planning is not something that has been well thought in cities like Bangkok. While real estate developers may get frustrated at times with urban planning regulations, they are an effective and necessary part of living in a built-up environment and they help people looking for a new home using property sites such as Rightmove. Urban planning’s role is to strike a happy medium between providing good homes, economic development and maintaining the quality of the environment and a sense of order.

A Quick History of Urban Planning
Urban planning became a pressing issue in the pre-war years because of rapid industrialisation and rising populations in towns and cities. The consequences included increased pollution, urban sprawl and ribbon development. After the Second World War, the government built upon work begun in the war years by eventually ratifying the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have responsibility for urban planning, which has been enshrined through Parliament since the passing of the Act. Apart from the introduction of green belts in 1955 and a few other important amendments, the basic structure of the Planning Act has not changed much since.

As a result, real-estate development today is subject to the rules of and often constrained by, the Planning Act. Planning permission must be sought from the relevant local authority before any new building can be erected or extensive changes made to existing structures.

Local authorities have developed local-development frameworks to stipulate what type of development is allowed in different areas. In order to prevent new developments from getting the green light just because there has been a failure to negotiate, the Act has been amended to give any developer the chance to accept certain obligations so they can essentially pre-empt any particularly obvious objections. For instance, a developer can guarantee a financial contribution towards any costs associated with changes to the infrastructure of the local community as a result of the potential development.

Urban Planning Today
Urban planning today is a result of amendments and improvements which have evolved as the passage of time has led to different pressures and requirements on the environment, communities and individual housing needs. Today, things that might be considered a minor amendment to existing planning permission need to be subjected to a new planning-approval process as a result of a change in the rules in 2006. So architectural tweaks or changes to accommodate the practicalities of a building site must be subject to the process again.

In most parts of the UK, a planning application is still submitted in paper form and made known to the public for a statutory period through public notices. But within the next few years, the hope is that the system will be improved by online submission and access to the system for all interested parties. The goal is to make planning permission a faster and simpler process. Currently, an applicant can appeal against a refusal of planning permission, while someone who has objected to an application cannot appeal unless they are submitting a case of maladministration by a local authority.

While the current system is not without its problems for real estate development, urban planners have an obligation to consider all aspects of the potential impact of future development. These include safety, economics, transport, the environment, changes to light and sound and the overall aesthetic impact on the area. Without such safeguards, your local community might not have remained a pleasant environment to live in. People using Rightmove to find a new property would not have the reassurance that the place they wish to relocate to will remain relatively unchanged.

Originally posted 2012-02-29 19:15:02.

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