Planning is in the news a lot at present, whether about backlogs and delays, about our gross lack of housebuilding, about the question of “beauty” or the implementation of design coding. But we shouldn’t unduly worry, as like the NHS, so central to our society, the performance of our planning system is always under the spotlight and will never seem adequate or good enough.

Our local planning authorities (LPA’s) have a formidable responsibility for our built environment, determining what development is needed, where it should be located and in what form, objectively and without favour. In this way, planners have shaped our cities, towns and countryside in the modern era, through development and use zoning, through control of height and massing, through the balancing of density, through the regulation and protection of our historic buildings and contexts, and through the placement and location of public facilities and amenities.

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