Speculation that the government has scrapped the planning bill which was announced in last year’s Queen’s Speech - finally condemning the controversial Planning for the Future White Paper to the dustbin - is disappointing, but hardly a shock.

 In one of his first moves as secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in September last year, Michael Gove paused progress of the policy to carry out a review. The following month the Conservative party chairman Oliver Dowden said that the government was “looking again” at the proposals within the white paper, specifically the planned broad-brush approach to simplify strategic planning by zoning land for growth, renewal or protection.