Catalogue description Records of the Ministry of Transport and successors, Policy and Planning divisions

Administrative divisions dealing with transport planning within the Ministry of Transport stem largely from the co-ordination of transport planning during the Second World War.

Planning and regulating traffic in London had always been a special case: the Royal Commission on Transport recommended the establishment of a London Traffic Board as early as 1905. The London Traffic Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Transport's London Traffic Branch and then the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee continued the planning function in the capital until the 1960s.

In 1964, A London Highways Division was formed. This had some responsibility for planning concerning trunk roads. In October 1965, following a reorganisation of the highways divisions, a London Policy Division was set up, with two branches. It was responsible for all aspects of transport planning for London, including public passenger transport pricing policies, and for policy and strategic planning for highways in the London area. In 1970 this was replaced by a London and South East Policy Division and a London Transportation Division.

Urban and regional planning was carried out by various units within the Highways Divisions. A Development and General Division (later General Planning Division) was established in in 1952. A Ministry of Transport, General Division was established in 1959. This was replaced in 1965 by the Transport Policy Interurban and General Division. The Division consisted of two branches: the first dealt with the general development of transport policy, interurban transport, and economic and technological research; the second branch considered policy on various services in liaison with other government departments.

In 1966, the Urban Traffic Policy Division was created. This was responsible for traffic and parking regulations outside Greater London and for environmental traffic policy. It was replaced in 1967 by the Transport Policy General Division and its functions were split between the London Highways Division and the newly created Traffic and Transport Planning Division A (TTPD A ) and B (TTPD B). These A and B divisions dealt with transport and traffic planning in urban and rural areas, were involved in aspects of the study of road pricing and had some responsibility for development.

In 1968, the Transport Policy Interurban and General Division was disbanded and its responsibilities were partly assumed by Freight Co-ordination and Public Transport A Divisions and Regional Development Division.

The Regional Development Division (RDD) had been established in 1964. In 1968 the division took over the economic development functions of the Transport Policy General Division and assumed regional functions of the of the Transport Policy Interurban and General Division. The RDD was responsible for co-ordinating action on the transport aspects of the work of the Government's regional development machinery, and was also concerned with the co-ordination of work with industry.

Between 1967 and 1968 regional road construction units were set up to take responsibility for the design, preparation and supervision of construction of motorways and larger trunk road schemes in England.

At the end of 1968, the Urban and Regional Professional 'B' Division (URPB) was created as part of the Passenger and Urban Transport Planning Group. It replaced the short-lived Traffic and Transport Planning B Division (TTPB) which had responsibility for development plans and development control. The division was concerned mainly with the evaluation of development plans drawn up under the Town and Country Planning Acts, especially the engineering aspects and budgetary implications.

In 1970, the planning functions of the Ministry of Transport were transferred to the Department of the Environment; all planning divisions were reorganised in 1973.