Planning and pollution: an unusual perspective on central - local relations

Disputes between the pollution-control and land-us-planning authorities concerning air pollution from unpopular developments such as incinerators offer an unusual perspective on central - local government relations. Central government policy guidance, intended to clarify the boundary between planning and pollution controls over air pollution, was a central issue at the Shell Green inquiry after the local planning authority's refusal of planning consent for a wastewater sludge-processing centre. The success of the developer's appeal is discussed within the context of an emerging centralisation of decisionmaking over very unpopular land uses such as incinerators.