Brief History
In 1967 Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) was formed as
Development Section under Development Department and was operating at the
State Secretariat building. With the existence of the Five-year National
Development Plan, the need to establish TCPD was considered vital in order
to guide the direction of our physical development efforts. As a result
TCPD was formed on the 1st January 1972. Mr. Litherland was appointed as
the first Commissioner of Town and Country Planning Department. He was
assisted by 6 staffs and at that time TCPD was operating in a small office
at Jalan Kumbang Pasang. On 19th September 1972, Town and Country Planning
Order (TCPO) was enacted which marked the beginning of real planning work.
With TCPO 1972, TCPD plays a pivotal role in guiding and controlling
development in areas declared as Development Control Areas. Several
Planning schemes were produced such as Muara Planning Scheme and Gadong
Planning Scheme. Under TCPO 1972 section 4, two authorities were formed
namely; Development Control Competent Authority (DCCA) and Subdivision
Control Competent Authority (SCCA) both chaired by the Commissioner of
Town and Country Planning(CTCP). Currently the DCCA chairmanship is still
under the CTCP, while SCCA chairmanship has been transferred to the
Surveyor General since 1st January 1996.
In 1979, Mr. Hj Ibrahim bin Hj Mat Yassin (now Dato Paduka Hj Ibrahim bin
Hj Mat Yassin) was appointed as the first local CTCP. In 1983 Town and
Country Planning Department moved to the PWD building at the Old Airport
Site, and in the same year the Landscape Section was formed.
Since the nationís independence in 1984, TCPD has been administered under
the auspices of the Ministry of Development. The department was divided
into 5 sections namely : Administration Section, Strategic Section,
Development Control Section, Local Planning Section and Landscape Section.
In 1985 the Government has consented to the preparation of the National
Master Plan. The preparation of this plan was carried out by an
international consultant and was completed at the end of 1987.
Since the early 1990's TCPD has put more emphasis on the preparation of
the Local Plan projects approved under the 6th National Development Plan.
In November 1994, Awg Hj Idris bin Hj Belaman who was TCPDís former
Deputy Commissioner was appointed as the new CTCP replacing Dato Paduka Hj
Ibrahim bin Hj Mat Yassin who was then transferred to the Housing
Development Department as the Director of Housing Development Department.
On 1st March 1997, TCPD was restructured with the aim to streamlining,
strengthening and integrating the objectives and functions of the
department. At present the department is divided into 5 sections namely :
Administration Section, Strategic Planning Section, Development Planning
Section, District Development Section and Planning Information Section,
while TCPD branches in Kuala Belait District and Tutong District is
allocated with full time officers and administered under District
Development Section.
On 17th September 1997 TCPD moved to a new building and celebrated its
silver jubilee on the 25th November 1997.
