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Another issue I have with planning is that there is not enough 'planning', in the real sense, at a local level.

I have a son at a free school, currently in a temporary building on a temporary site (which is not even in the catchment area). The catchment area is almost entirely residential and in desperate need of a school, but the local council has neglected to earmark an appropriate site for decades. A permanent site (a semi-derelict house on a narrow, sloping site) was acquired, but local lobbying against this site, and countless public meetings, has now resulted in the council setting up an open consultation in the form of a web survey. Five potential sites have been chosen for 'discussion'. This is all before a design has been produced. I dread the prospect of the eventual planning application itself.

The aim of a democratic process is fair enough, but the local council should be 'planning' these things positively rather than waiting for an application to come in as and when.