Two councils have slammed the vague guidelines and lack of joined-up thinking in the Government after their piloting of a new development framework ended in disaster. Lichfield DC and Stafford BC spent more than £100,000 each and two years of preparation on local development frameworks (LDFs) which have been declared ‘unsound’. The two authorities, the first to have their new-style LDFs examined, will now have to go back to the drawing board, and urged the Government to issue clearer guidelines and to work more closely with the planning inspectorate on assessments. A Department for Communities and Local Government said the Government office for the West Midlands had worked closely with the councils and both had ‘numerous opportunities’ to take advice about the ‘soundness’ of their documents.
