CONTROLLERS LIKE TO CONTROL. Many things need to be controlled (and some things don’t), but once there is an obligation to secure some level of planning permission, the applicant is a hostage to the decision-maker. And, as controllers are often frustrated by the limitations of their powers, they are naturally tempted to push for their extension.
Rules and regulations are always done with the best of intent. But once some apparent improvement is put in place, however ill-conceived or impractical it transpires to be, it establishes a benchmark from which any relaxation is seen as a drop in standards.
The recent proposed removal of the “nutrient neutrality” regulations is an example. It started off as an EU-derived stipulation following a November 2018 European Court of Justice ruling on a Dutch case that thereby took effect across the EU and — because Brexit did not take effect until January 2020 — in the UK too. It was, of course, taken up with enthusiasm by the government quango, Natural England, which used it to issue
