Britain may be classified as a developed nation; yet a third of her land surface, the uplands, is essentially undeveloped. The uplands are also unplanned and visitors from developing nations remark on how little basic resource evaluation and planning has gone on. Britain was, after all, a founding force in topographic mapping and in town planning. The rural nature of the uplands has, however, meant that the urban-dwelling decision makers have preferred to see them unplanned (see Davidson and Wibberley, 1977), except where planning protects them from the urban expansion.