Governmental Logics in Commercialised Planning Practices. The Case of Local Authority Pre-Application Negotiations in the English Planning System

The paper provides an empirical review of a widely used tool in the English planning system – pre-application discussions (‘pre-apps’) and theoretical exposition governmental ‘logics’ that underpin neoliberal-informed reforms. We present five logic frames growth, efficiency, commercialisation, participation quality, apply these to negotiation practice, highlight how Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) are faced with challenge reconciling complex multiple often competing aims appear irreconcilable practice. whilst ‘ordinary’ tools such as pre-apps may mundane, they can provide valuable instantiations where logics collide.