The first week of the summer holidays should have been relatively quiet, but instead the new government packed it with policy announcements. First up on Monday was Rachel Reeves’ downbeat public finances statement which included a cull of some major infrastructure projects on the grounds that these were unaffordable.

Tuesday saw Angela Rayner launch a consultation on revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) followed by Wednesday’s announcement of the new towns taskforce which is charged with identifying suitable sites for these. That leaves the rest of the summer to digest what the proposals mean.

Cancelling the A27 Arundel bypass and A303 Stonehenge tunnel is a concern because it shakes confidence in the new government’s commitment to long-term infrastructure planning and funding after the last government’s shock cancellation of HS2’s northern leg.

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