Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3142F: Introduction to Planning Law and Environmental Impact Assessment

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to introduce you to planning law and the law of Environmental Impact Assessment. The module will run over the second term and will offer an overview of the history and ideologies that have shaped Town and Country Planning, a detailed overview of which types of developments require planning permission in England and Wales, an introduction to the European requirement of Environmental Impact Assessment, and an analysis of EIA based on how it is applied to various case studies in the UK.  Given the focus on both theoretical and practical issues in planning law, the first part of this module also provides you with a sound grasp of the competing ideologies which are present in this area.

The module seeks to provide you with the foundations of both theoretical and empirical knowledge of planning law and the law of Environmental Impact Assessment, as well as equipping you with an understanding of the contemporary theory, debates and critical issues in, and perspectives on, planning regulation. 

The module allows you to contextualise abstract debates in specific realities and, vice versa, to develop theoretical reflections from selected topics. This will be achieved through an exploration of the philosophical and historical background of the development of planning law. In order to enhance the theory-practice interplay, links with local Devon planning processes will also be drawn on in order to allow you to observe planning regulation in action. The involvement of local initiatives would be a great experience for any up and coming planning lawyer.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate detailed/comprehensive knowledge of the law relating to planning law and Environmental Impact Assessment and a substantial range of major concepts, values and principles relevant to its application;
2. Demonstrate critical awareness of a wide range of social and contextual implications of the areas of planning law and Environmental Impact Assessment studied;
3. Compare, analyse and synthesise the principal rules and theories relating to planning law and Environmental Impact Assessment;
4. Identify, explain and critically evaluate key issues in planning law and Environmental Impact Assessment and to apply relevant rules and theories;
Discipline-Specific Skills5. demonstrate detailed/comprehensive knowledge of legal concepts and their contextual/social/political implications;
6. select, integrate and present coherently and reflectively, orally and in writing, relevant law and legal/theoretical arguments;
Personal and Key Skills7. Communicate and engage in debate effectively and accurately, orally and in writing, in a manner appropriate to the discipline/ different contexts;
8. Identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of library-based and electronic resources with minimum guidance; and
9. Work independently and to manage time efficiently in preparing for scheduled learning activities, exercises and assessments.