National planning

The government published its draft National Planning Policy Framework on Monday. As with the announcement on business rate retention there has been little public debate. In turn, some of that debate has been plain silly - a complaint that I made about earlier contributions but that applies equally to reactions to the publication of the draft. In particular I would highlight the national trusts' fantastic before and after pictures (which made me wonder if we were reading the same document). The lack of serious debate is unfortunate, however, because these reforms are important and will have implications for economic growth and the environment for many years to come.