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Following the Green Paper in 2001 (and various modernisation strategies), the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 was formed, to reduce inflexibility and inefficiency within the planning system (Cullingworth & Nadin 2006). Structure plans, local plans and unitary development plans were to be replaced by Local Development Documents (LDDs) under the Local Development Framework (Reeves & Burley, 2002) focussing on the important process of public involvement. However this was/is not a simple transition and can take varying lengths of time for different regions. The Planning Portal website (2009) states that unless expressly replaced by a new policy, old policies (adopted local plan, unitary development plan and structure plan policies) are saved for three years from whichever is the later of: -
• The date of commencement of section 38 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 ('the Act') on 28 September 2004 or
• The date the plan was adopted or approved (Planning Portal Website, 2009).

The transition will allow saved policies from structure plans, local plans made after the PCPA Act and mineral/waste local plans or saved policies. Whereas England will not have a single national plan, Wales is to have a single Wales Spatial Plan, which is the responsibility of the National Assembly. In Scotland, the change to the development plan system involves removing all structure plans, creating a strategic development plan that focuses on employment, housing, transport and the environment over a fifteen year period.
 
From the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) were born (in England, they are not prepared in Scotland, Wales and NI). The goal of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. The RSS, incorporating a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS), provides a extensive development strategy for a region for a fifteen to twenty year period. The RSS also informs the preparation of Local Development Documents (LDDs), Local Transport Plans (LTPs) and regional and sub-regional strategies and programmes that have a bearing on land use activities (Communities and Local Government Website, 2009).

The main safety nets in plan preparation and adoption, following the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, can be seen below: -

• The opportunity for all interests to be consulted in the formative stages of plan preparation
• The need for authorities to consider conformity between plans and regional and national guidance
• The right to make representations to both strategic and local development plan documents (which may be objections or indications of support)
• To have representations to local development documents considered, and if desired, heard before an independent inspector.
• The overarching right of the Secretary of State to intervene and to direct changes
• A limited right to challenge the plan in the courts on procedural matters (Cullingworth and Nadin, 2006).

References Cullingworth, B and Nadin, V (2006). Town and Country Planning in the UK (14th Edition), Routledge, LondonPlanning Portal Website, 2009·Reeves, D & Burley, K (2002). Public Inquiries and Development Plans in England: The Role of Planning Aid. Planning Practice and Research 17, 4, pp 407-428

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