New Reforms of English Planning System

Facing with the current situation of national economic recession, the UK coalition government reforms the original English planning system since taking office, in order to through adjusting the relationship between planning and development, to revive the economy. This paper reviews the evolution of the English planning system and mainly focuses on the new reforms since 2009. Based on the National Planning Policy Framework(NPPF) and other important official documents, the paper makes an objective illustration and a detailed analysis of the reform process. It concludes that there are four major features of the reform, which are the growth-dependent planning, the adjustments at the regional level, strengthened localism, and the restrictions on public participation. The research on the reform of English planning system can help to understand the major issues during the latest development in England, and also to provide references to the changing Chinese planning system.