New renewal tools must balance growth policies

Democratic control over development decisions is essential, but we are yet to find a way of enshrining it in a planning system without creating an inbuilt bias against building. As Treasury economist Kate Barker's review of the planning system says this week, the costs of development are all too often "local, short-term and highly visible, while the benefits may be regional, long-term and less apparent". Not surprising, then, that the local councillors who make planning decisions often find it more politic to oppose rather than support new build.