I fully support these aims. In my view we need a community led planning system fit for the 21st century

I’m a former city councillor, and know from experience how residents feel when they don’t have any control over what is build in their local community. The government’s reforms go in the wrong direction on this front. This charter is an important way of demonstrating that there are many people and organisations who are concerned.

We already live in the one of the most centralised systems in the modern world. To take away local involvement in planning decisions make this even worse. These decisions should be left with local communities and power should not be handed to developers and Westminster. We have already seen how rotten the links between Government and developers are and this can only make cronyism and corruption more likely Haward