To speed up the system, householder and business planningapplications will be handled separately, and the current timescalefor appeals to and call-ins by the Secretary of State will behalved. Time limits on planning consent will be cut from five tothree years. And to simplify the system Byers plans to scrap theexisting multi-layered plan hierarchy and replace it with atwo-level system of village or neighbourhood plans and regionalplans.

One of the most radical proposals is the introduction ofBusiness Zones to allow developers to build in designated areaswithout requiring specific planning approval. The zones would berestricted to specific types of business like clusters of hi-techindustry.

Byers said: 'We want a planning system in which the values ofthe whole community are allowed to prosper and develop. The currentsystem does not allow that. It is slow, ponderous and uncertain. Itbenefits those with large cash and time resources and excludesthose without. Our proposals have been characterised as being goodfor business. That is true. But they are good for the rest of thecommunity, too.'