Ministry of Town and Country Planning and successors: Regional Physical Planning...

As a result of the Conference of Regional Planning Officers in February 1946, the Government approved the setting up of Regional Physical Planning Committees as part of the standing machinery to be maintained in each region for the purpose of inter-departmental consultation.

The Regional Physical Planning Committees' terms of reference were:-

"a. to keep under review, as a matter of long-term policy, the fundamental planning problems of the region as they affect the use of land and the settlement of population; and to make recommendations to headquarters from time to time;

b. to deal with particular development proposals of major importance (excluding industrial schemes dealt with by the Distribution of Industry Panels) which affect the land-use interests of different departments and require consultation and decision regionally or at headquarters (Note - individual cases requiring immediate decision locally can normally be cleared by informal consultations between interested departments)."