Skill Profile
Land Use
"Analysing and determining appropriate uses for land based on planning policy, environmental constraints, infrastructure capacity, and community need."
YOUR SKILLS
Problems This Skill Solves
- A developer wants to build on greenfield land — land use assessment determines if policy supports the principle of development
- An authority needs to allocate housing sites in the local plan — land use analysis identifies the most sustainable options
- A site has competing potential uses — land use assessment weighs planning policy, viability, and infrastructure capacity to determine the best allocation
Roles That Use This Skill
1 total · 1 industryThis skill is concentrated in one industry.
Local Government / Property / Consultancy
"If planning permission exists, land use is decided."
Planning permission is time-limited and site-specific. Land use analysis continues throughout a project's life to assess viability, policy compliance, and changing use needs.
"Land use decisions are mainly constrained by policy — if the site is allocated in the local plan, the principle of development is established."
Allocation establishes the principle but does not resolve the detailed planning questions: access, density, heritage impact, ecological constraints, drainage, infrastructure capacity, and design quality. Many allocated sites have development constraints that require significant negotiation and mitigation before development becomes deliverable, regardless of the policy position.
Research & Outlook
Planning reform and housing targets are making land use expertise central to national policy delivery.
See This Skill In Action
Watch a professional demonstrate Land Use in a real working environment — what it looks like, how it's applied, and why it matters.
Planning / Policy
Land Use
Connected Skills
Growth Path
Understands the Use Class Order and can read a local plan to identify allocations and constraints for a given site.
Assesses sites against policy frameworks, prepares sequential tests and need assessments, and advises clients on development potential.
Develops strategic land use policy for a local plan, leads examination hearings, and advises on complex mixed-use or sensitive site challenges.
How to Practise
- 1.Study the NPPF and your local authority's Local Plan policies covering land use designations
- 2.Analyse a site through the lens of Use Class Order changes and policy constraints
- 3.Complete RTPI accredited planning training covering land use policy and development management
How to Prove
- ·RTPI membership (MRTPI) demonstrating planning policy and land use competency
- ·Planning statements or land use assessments submitted with planning applications
- ·Local plan examination representations made on behalf of clients or an authority