The City of London’s former planning chief has lashed out at the “casino” planning system, following the Stratford Sphere debacle.
Peter Rees, who was chief planner at the Corporation of London for 29 years to 2014, said the system had become overly political, meaning that it was “almost impossible to know in advance which way a planning application will go”.
“The British planning system is probably at the weakest it has been since its creation,” said Rees, now professor of places and city planning at University College London. “It has been emasculated by various politicians from Gordon Brown onwards.”
