THE Tory-LibDem government’s national planning policy framework has been described by some people as favouring public opinion and retaining green belt land.

I fear this is an over-optimistic reaction to the fact that the framework is not quite as bad as appeared likely from the trailers for it.

In September last year its draftsman John Rhodes said, ‘It’s not meant to be the opportunity for communities to resist development. The plain fact is that the framework still emphasises a presumption in favour of what it calls ‘sustainable’ development and explicitly states that ‘proposed development that accords with an up-to-date Local Plan should be approved’.

Any would-be developer of, say, The Marsh or of Markham and Little Francis will see this as a red-and-amber signal and will surely be preparing to go already.

Further, the framework tells local planning authorities like Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to ‘consider using local development orders to relax planning controls for particular areas or categories of development’.

This would allow the council, if it wished, to give the green light to some particular proposal even in the face of local opposition.

Watch out!

To quote John Rhodes again, ‘There’s going to be more development, not less’.

Michael Wheller, High Street, Wyke Regis