REGENERATIONBRITAINIn the times of a worrying economy,local councils look increasingly to reclaimingabandoned spaces. But are all brown field sitessuitable for redevelopment?

Planning min-ister Greg Clark said the changes in England were “absolutely cru-cial” but he also agreed to talk to opponents of the proposals.He said “particu-lar aspects” could be addressed if groups such as the National Trust felt they were unclear.Shadow com-munities minister Jack Dromey said he welcomed the government’s will-ingness to talk.Mr Clark said the government would not back down on its aim to boost house-building and en-courage business.Campaigners say

they fear exces-sive development under the Draft National Planning Policy Frame-work.The plan, pub-lished in July, streamlines policy that is currently more than 1,000 pages down to just 52 and features a presumption of “sustainable devel-opment”.The Department for Communities and Local Gov-ernment says it intends to trans-form a system whose “volume and complexity have made plan-ning increasingly inaccessible to all but specialists”.But the National

Trust said the plans “failed to protect the eve-ryday places that local communi-ties love” while the Campaign to Protect Rural England said the government need-ed “to listen and make further im-provements or the consequences for the English coun-tryside and the character of our towns and villages will be grave”.

GOOD FOR BUSINESS