Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, so it must be time for the now traditional festive update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), so beloved by those of us who get to read it over the Christmas holidays.

Planning reform is certainly in the news. We expect the updated NPPF imminently, and on Monday, the government announced that it was planning to meet house builders’ long-standing policy request to strip away local councillors’ ability to decide on planning applications that are compliant with their local plan.

That sounds reasonable. You can understand why house builders get frustrated when elected members, who, as developers often point out, are rarely qualified, turn down local applications due to local political opposition. Make room for the experts!

…