The making of planning policy is a major political and legal issue and there is currently a considerable focus by the government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on local plan policy making.

The current climate is characterised by government concern at the slow pace of local plan adoption in England, the controversial introduction of neighbourhood planning, new strategic planning tools with the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 and local development plans in Northern Ireland.

Planning Policy is the only book dedicated to planning policy, both national and local and includes coverage of the Housing and Planning Act 2016. It covers the policy framework within which planning decisions are taken. It addresses how national and local policy is formulated, examined and challenged.