More than two years after the government proposed fundamental reforms of the current system of Town and Country Planning in the green paper, 'Planning: Delivering a Fundamental Change' (December 2001), the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, received Royal Assent on 13 May 2004, to provide a framework for reform. At its heart are changes to the development plan system at both local and regional levels. The paper summarises principle amendments to the system, which came into place on 28 September 2004, with parts 1 and 2 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.