So Basingstoke council is in the top five for having planning decisions overturned on appeal. Is this good or bad? It depends on whether one considers from the perspective of the Government or of the residents.

I would congratulate Basingstoke council. It shows that the views of the community rate highly in its decisions, and it is prepared to take a stand against unreasonable demands from developers.

READ MORE: Basingstoke's major planning decisions could be taken out of local hands

Incidentally, who is doing the arithmetic here? Seven out of 49 represents one out of 7, i.e. 14 per cent by my calculation, not 12.1 per cent.

So six out of seven of the council’s decisions favoured the community, as well as satisfying Government guidelines. It is a pity that the council was beaten in one out of seven, but at least it put up a good fight on our behalf.

Yes, it would be good if the planning procedure could be speeded up. I hardly think that this is going to be achieved by the Government, without local knowledge, itself taking control. Michael Gove and co also need to remember that there will be a General Election in just over a year’s time.

Denis McMahon

Barn Lane

Oakley

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