The Silkin Test is a
UK planning policy designed to control major developments which will affect areas classified as
National Parks
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
and
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
(AONB).
The three main criteria state that -
#it must be in the
National interest
The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government.
Etymology
The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni de ...
;
#there is no practicable alternative to development in a National Park;
#must be built in a way that minimises detrimental effects on the environment.
The test was contained in
Planning Policy Statement
{{Use British English, date=August 2024
Planning Policy Statements (PPS) were UK government statements of national policy and principles towards certain aspects of the Town and country planning in the United Kingdom, town planning framework. In re ...
(PPS) 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (formerly
PPG7)
PPS7 has now been replaced by the National Planning Policy Framework (2012), in which paras. 115/116 set out a differently-worded test.
History
The criteria were first proposed by the then
Minister of Town and Country Planning,
Lewis Silkin
Lewis Silkin, 1st Baron Silkin CH (14 November 1889 – 11 May 1972), was a British Labour Party politician. Career
Lewis Silkin was born on 14 November 1889 to Abraham and Fanny Silkin, who were Litvak Jews from what was then the Lithuanian ...
MP in 1949.
[
]
Notable applications
*
South Wales Gas Pipeline
The South Wales Gas Pipeline (also known as the Milford Haven pipeline) is the UK's largest high-pressure gas pipeline. The pipeline passing through Wales was built for National Grid plc and links South Hook and Dragon liquefied natural gas (LN ...
(2007)
See also
*
Lewis Silkin, 1st Baron Silkin
*
Sandford approach (1976)
*
Waldegrave formulation (1987)
References
{{Reflist
United Kingdom planning policy