Prime Minister Liz Truss’ speech to the Conservative Party  conference set out her stall to relentlessly focus on delivering economic growth.

She explained that as part of that agenda “we will make it easier to build homes.”She is right to have that relentless focus. New homes are crucial to any economic growth strategy.

Despite the rhetoric over recent years around reforming the planning system and making it easier to build new homes, the number of planning applications submitted and approved is actually falling. That is, in part, a consequence of planning departments being significantly under-resourced; spending on planning has reduced dramatically in recent years. It is also a consequence of the continued promise – or threat, perhaps – of planning reform, causing local authorities to delay progress on new local plans.