Glossary

GDO - The Town & Country Planning (General Development) Order 1988: This has been replaced by the GPDO and GDPO, though you may still hear the acronym 'GDO' used to refer to areas covered by either of these sets of regulations.
GDPO - The Town & Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995: Along with the Town & Country Planning (Applications) Regulations 1988, this describes the procedure that local planning authorities have to follow when dealing with planning applications and certificates of lawful use, as well as the procedure they must follow with applications that are a departure from the development plan.
General conformity: Local development plan documents need to be in general conformity with their regional spatial strategy. It is up to the regional planning body to determine if the plans are in general conformity to the regional strategy.
Government office: The Government offices for the regions monitor the effectiveness of the planning system in relation to Government planning policy, and exercise the reserve planning powers of the Secretary of the State. They are part of the Department for Communities and Local Government, though they also co-ordinate the work of other Government departments (such as Trade and Industry) within the areas they cover. They are distinct from regional assemblies.
Government planning policy / PPGs / PPSs: National planning policies that regional planning bodies and local planning authorities need to take into account when drawing up development plans and other documents and making decisions on planning applications. Government planning policy guidance is set out in a series of planning policy guidance notes (PPGs). These policies are produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government. As a result of the Government's planning green paper in 2001, many of the PPGs are being revised and renamed planning policy statements (PPSs). These focus on stating Government policy, whilst good practice guidance for local authorities is set out in separate documents accompanying the PPSs.
GPDO - The Town & Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995: This provides permitted development rights for a specified range of development, meaning that those activities do not require an application for planning permission. However, agricultural buildings and certain telecommunications equipment covered by permitted development rights are also subject to the prior approval procedure.
Green Belt: Designated area of countryside 'belting' a settlement, which is protected from most forms of development, including 'inappropriate' development defined in Government policy (PPG2). Green Belts exist throughout the country, but not in every county. A Green Belt aims to stop urban sprawl and the merging of settlements, preserve the character of historic towns and encourage development to locate within existing built-up areas. The quality or appearance of land is not a factor in its designation as Green Belt.
Greenfield site: Land that has not previously been used for urban development. It is usually land last used for agriculture and located next to or outside existing built-up areas of a settlement.