Will Boris’s planning shake-up end in another Tory fight?

If there’s one thing you’d think the Tories might have learned over the past ten years in government, it’s that trying to reform the planning system will cause an almighty row. Under David Cameron, the party ended up in a bizarre fight with the Daily Telegraph and the National Trust over its plans to build more homes. Theresa May talked about reform but characteristically never quite managed it. But despite everything else that’s going on for the government at the moment, ministers have rather bravely ploughed ahead with a huge planning shake-up which makes the Cameron reforms look rather boring.

Today’s Planning for the Future white paper will change the way development happens, with land categorised as being suitable for Growth (areas suitable for substantial development of new homes, schools, shops, offices and hospitals), Renewal (brownfield sites and development in areas which are already built on) or Protected (green belt, areas of outstanding natural beauty, areas at risk of flooding and so on).