Planning Aid provides free urban and environmental planning advice to individuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay a professional consultant, via a number of charitable organisations throughout the UK.
A similar scheme, Community Technical Aid, operates in part of Ireland.
Since 2004, the UK government has supported and expanded the Planning Aid service in England.
This has had the effect of extending the Planning Aid service to many more areas of the country, and in part a recognition to many communities that find it hard to engage with the planning system, and that community involvement at the right time can help to deliver more successful policies and projects.
In the Republic of Ireland, a commitment to introducing Planning Aid is contained in the 2007 Fianna Fáil / Greens Agreed Programme for Government.