ne of America’s most astute politicians once opined that “all politics is local.” In this new century, he would probably add that “all land use is political.”

Throughout the world, citizens are organising to oppose all forms of new development projects – from shopping centres and office buildings to affordable housing and even churches. The “new jobs and new taxes” that developers traditionally promise no longer have the resonance they once enjoyed. Development is no longer synonymous with progress, nor is growth necessarily perceived as good.  Over-prescriptive conservationism and the fear of change often drive the planning process.

At the same time, many organisations now recognise the value of protecting their interests from highly aggressive competition. Businesses have discovered that it is more cost effective to use the planning system to stop new market entrants than to compete with them after they have opened