The Planning Service
What is Planning?
Planning, otherwise known more formally as "Town Planning" or "Town and Country Planning", is concerned principally with preserving and enhancing the physical environment. It seeks to balance business, residential and community needs for the development of houses, offices and factories with the need to protect areas from possible adverse effects of development. It also tries to ensure that the development and needs of the present are sustainable and do not compromise future expectations and needs.
On a statutory level, planning is governed mainly by the Town Country Planning Act 1990, along with its supplementary regulations.
For more information about the planning system, see Online Planning Resources. Some guidance on the planning system is also provided by the government.
Planning in Darlington
The Planning team is responsible for a wide range of matters relating to the development of land and buildings in the Borough of Darlington, including:
See more on the planning team's responsibilities.
Please note that Planning does not include Building Control, Countryside and Rights of Way or Transport Policy. These are dealt with by separate teams elsewhere within the organisation.