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So, it's back to the 1950s / 60s is it? Mac, bless him (reminded me of a puffin for some reason) got on with the job like the gritty leader he was There are some lessons in this for the modern day. Macmillan showed that the ruthless application of political will, along with businessmen employed as fixers, could achieve a surprising amount. He had no qualms about arranging for the building of vast numbers of council houses: Labour was to some extent beaten with its own weapons. (Conservative Home accessed 04/10/2017) Ah well, that's the end of Building Control then. Remember how long it took to rip those dreadfully built houses down? Not long. If you are a BCO, you might as well get another job.

Hmmmm. Letter to the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/31/public-interest-in-housing-and-parks-should-trump-private-profits For me this is an example of someone with a very specific London perspective on a London problem wanting to put their local sticky plaster on the whole country, and perhaps being deliberately provocative! +I do not believe the "sitting on 600k Planning Permissions" comment - that is standard misinformation / sh*tstirring in the definition of "sitting on". 600k is a 3 year pipleline at current rates of approx 190k new dwellings per year for PPs that only last 3 years. There are many which are far further out on developments which will take perhaps a decade to build. eg The Westminster Council Chelsea Barracks Planning Brief was dated 2006. Outline PP was 2011. Completion due 2018. https://www.westminster.gov.uk/chelsea-barracks There are several more interesting letters on the page. Ferdinand

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40058074 When I heard this on the radio, the thing that jumped out was the comment that the National Grid was paying companies to use electricity at times of peak (wind and solar) generation so it could manage what was being generated. Wouldn't it be nice if domestic consumers were offered the same...

This makes you wonder a bit.

We met under a hundred pinpricks of light, and two snarling lions rampant. It seemed to me that we were going to need the shield against which they were leaning. The beasts looked angry, angry at the nervous jollity, the back-slapping, the power dresses and forced open-neck shirt paired with mohair suit. When one Councillor cracked a joke the lions retained their severity. And so they should, because this committee is a money factory. Fortunes are made and lost here. Dreams come true, dreams are shattered right here in this room. So many tight jaws, so much emotion, so much riding on what was to be decided. Tap-dancing on the head of a pin ‘What does Sustainability mean?’ Well, it used to be this and now it’s that, and that’s not fair, that’s not relevant, yes it is, no it isn’t. School playground experience is vital here. Only difference? Money. The squabbling’s serious stuff now, salaries, livelihoods, dreams, effort, emotional attachment, sales, income. And the playground is where those wheedling skills are first learned, and then honed. ‘….Aware of the problem, but not aware of the depth of feeling in the community…’ says the applicant. Titters. Another tap on the head of the pin. And the weasel agent, playground ex-offender, seen it all before, watching, sniffing, weighing it all up. The reactions, votes, smiles of the Councillors noted, saved, filed away for the next time the money factory is in session. Embarrassingly inarticulate Councillors, silent Councillors, somnolent Councillors, chirpy, pushy Councillors all clear that a Planning Premium is in the wind. More money, more emotion, more tap dancing on a pin head. (image used with the permission of the artist: you can find more of his work here)