Don't do down planners

Running down the planning system and planners is not going to help counter the anti-development sentiment that underlies a lot of the problems revealed by these articles, nor will it help in attracting bright young people to a career in planning.

The planning system has worked extremely well over the decades but it is in need of reform. That's why we have a planning bill going through parliament, a reform of national planning policy, a programme of culture change and, last but not least, financial resourcing in the shape of the £350m planning delivery grant.

Your unnamed planner rightly points out that we have not recruited as many graduates into the profession as we need to, and it's for that reason that we are pushing a programme of culture change to alter the perception of planners and the planning system.

We also have Sir John Egan carrying out a skills review for planners, looking at how we can improve the skills needed to deliver thriving, sustainable communities.

We need a planning system that the public and the professions alike have confidence in and that is seen to be important in delivering the right development in the right place at the right time. Planning should be driven by a common view between developers and the community, and while I know that's not always easy, a fast, efficient and transparent system will help to make it more of a reality.