Bob Neill: On Monday 5 July, the High Court decided to quash, in their entirety, the Structural Change Orders creating unitary councils for the cities of Exeter and Norwich. As a result the terms of office of one third of the members of Exeter and Norwich city councils, which had been extended by the orders, ended on the 5 July and there will be by-elections to fill these vacancies within 35 days as...
Eric Pickles: Today I am taking the first step to deliver our commitment in the coalition agreement to "rapidly abolish regional spatial strategies and return decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils", by revoking regional strategies. Regional strategies added unnecessary bureaucracy to the planning system. They were a failure. They were expensive and time-consuming. They alienated...