Planning and policy documents as transactions costs: the case of rural decision-making in England

The growth in community involvement in public domain decisions for rural spaces in England over the past 20 years has increased the overall costs of such decision-making. These transaction's costs can be grouped into four types pertaining to organisations, institutions, belief systems and knowledge and information (K&I). Within the last of these, costs can arise because of a lack of K&I, the costs of procuring K&I and K&I overload. In an empirical survey in Gloucestershire county in the south west region of England K&I transaction's costs were found to be increasing, particularly in relation to procurement and overload. The number of planning and policy documents as a subset of K&I had increased considerably in the case study area such that for the rural district of the Cotswolds 60 plans pertained simultaneously in 2007. Despite this, many of those involved in decision-making about rural spaces felt the costs involved in assimilating the information that they contained were worth paying if it allowed them to be better informed.

► The transactions costs of land use decision-making are increasing.
► Transactions costs relating to knowledge and information are significant.
► Within these, information overload provides a considerable and growing cost.
► The increasing number of policies and plans contributes to this transactions cost.
► The growth in polices and plans are related to increasing community participation