The role of mediation in the settlement of planning disputes at appeal: the debate and research agenda

Mediation has now been canvassed for use in the settlement of planning disp utes. But does mediation have a role to play here? In the literature on alt ernative dispute resolution some authors have argued that there are general rules for deciding which types of dispute would be suitable for mediation and which would not. The rule of 'presumptive mediation' has been advocated ; that as long as certain conditions are satisfied, mediation should be the first procedure used. If mediation is not successful, the mediator can the n make an informed recommendation for a different procedure. But is the uti lity of mediation so ubiquitous? Is the rule of presumptive mediation appro priate, even safe, in all circumstances? We investigate the role of mediati on in one particular field of dispute resolution, where the circumstances a re, on the face of it, markedly different to the 'normal' situation for whi ch mediation has been used and proved successful; where the disputes concer n specific proposals for the development of land and, in particular, where the dispute is between local planning authorities, private developers, and community groups. We attempt to analyse the conditions under which mediatio n may serve a useful function in this particular field of dispute resolutio n and investigate how 'fitting the forum to the fuss' may be dealt with in relation to the specific circumstances and context of so-called planning di sputes.