Hands Off Our Land: A victory for England's matchless countryside The simplification of England's planning laws has not been the Coalition's finest hour. Sneaked out on the eve of last summer's parliamentary recess, the draft National Planning Policy Framework clumsily attempted to turn the planning system into a developers" charter. Intemperate attacks by ministers on those who dared to raise concerns made for a rancorous public debate. The campaign by this newspaper for a rethink, which drew a magnificent response from our readers, touched a raw nerve among all who value England's matchless countryside and wish to see it protected from unsympathetic development. The Government initially accused critics of the draft framework of being anti-development and anti-growth. We have argued consistently for a balanced approach to development. For example, we supported the expansion of Heathrow and are intrigued to see that George Osborne, the Chancellor, is now coming round to this way of thinking by recognising the economic need for additional runway capacity in the South-East. Better late than never. The revised framework published yesterday shows that the Government has listened and learnt, and for that it is to be commended. Almost all of the strictures voiced by the National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and other pressure groups have been taken on board. The new document strikes a far healthier balance between development and the environment: it recognises the importance of working within, not against, local plans; it fleshes out what is meant by sustainable development; and it focuses on the obligations of councils to prioritise brownfield development. It was particularly encouraging to hear Greg Clark, the planning minister, complain about the mediocrity of so much recent development and call for higher standards in both design and construction. Of course, in trimming 1,000 pages of planning guidance down to 50, the gates are left open to a welter of legal challenges. Nevertheless, the framework which came into effect yesterday will leave both developers and country lovers reasonably content. It was best summarised by Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary: "It will be easier to build in the right place and harder to build in the wrong place." You can't say fairer than that.