Can the planning process be trusted anymore?

People may have heard about the controversy that has engulfed the Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, who insisted that his own decision to approve a planning application for 1,500 flats in London Docklands be released immediately, after it had been turned down by planning authorities. The reason for the rush was that by doing so it would save the developer £45 million in local taxation, to be imposed as the developer said by a ’Marxist Town Hall’.

There are many things I could write about this but what amazed me was that another minister said on the Today programme last week, when he was wheeled before the microphone to defend Robert Jenrick. He clearly suggested that it was open to anyone who wanted to try to influence any ministerial decisions, simply to attend a Conservative Party fundraising event. Jenrick had sat next at such a fundraisingdo to the developer, who had then shown a video of the proposals to the Minister.

Unsurprisingly to me at least, the developer then made a £12,000 donation to the Conservative Party. In the light of this, do we not need a planning system that everyone can trust?

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