Planning policy: Don't blame the countryside for our lack of housing | Simon Jenkins

Britain is desperately inefficient in its land use, and there are still no measures to bring empty property back on the market

The government's learning curve on planning is like an ant climbing a mountain. Desperate for someone to blame for the lack of growth, David Cameron has fallen back on the Margaret Thatcher's old bogey, local government, and the bugbear of planning control. Last year he tried to nationalise development control, in the most cack-handed fashion, and was beaten back....