From the Telegraph...
" People planning
SIR - We all want the planning system to be fair and efficient. However we are concerned that the Growth and Infrastructure Bill undermines local accountability by centralising powers in the hands of the Secretary of State.
Planning has to be about delivery, but it is also about people and their voice in decisions. For more than 60 years we have enjoyed local democratic accountability in planning which ensures the system's legitimacy in the eyes of the public. Centralising power will corrode public trust.
We ask the Government to delete Clauses 1 and 23 of the Bill, which allow developers to bypass local authority decision making. The planning system is not the cause of poor economic performance but provides a vital way of deciding between competing objectives in the public interest. "
Signed by 24 interested parties...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/9746363/Marriage-is-more-than-just-a-public-expression-of-love.html