There is an avenue near me that leads from a busy trunk road, for one very straight mile and then it simply seems to peter out to a country lane.  The trunk road end has fabulous big houses, some are infills, built in the side and back gardens of some old bungalows that had served their purpose years ago and were now too small to be of use.  The land was valuable though so in went the planning applications and after weeks of wrangling, back would come the cherished planning permission for this development or that.   Next came the diggers and tipper trucks and down came the unloved buildings.

With the emphasis on using brown field sites, i.e. re-using land that has had buildings on it and thus not a new green field site, it’s critical to get planning applications in speedily and correct in every detail so as not to delay any project.