At last the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) have been brought to heel in their approach toward the assessment of basement excavations.

The General Election already seems a long time ago. I have to admit to being a bit disappointed that we haven't already seen a raft of commitments to infrastructure projects, as I thought the Government would act decisively in this respect.

The focus has so far been on reaffirming the commitment to the inception of a Northern Powerhouse; the basis of which still puzzles me. I know I sound like a scratched record, but what is it? What does it mean for the rest of the Country? Part of me hopes that another region comes forward and promotes exactly the same message as that which is emerging out of Greater Manchester – not because I wish to denigrate what the Mancunians are doing, but to prove the point that there needs to be a national plan for regions to work to, to ensure communication, compatibility, and productivity of output. That's what a business would do; why is running a country any different?

Legislation dating from the 1970s which sought to preclude the use of homes as temporary visitor-related accommodation in London has been lifted, following a government consultation.

So, the dust is beginning to settle on the shock Election outcome, and the Westminster/media village has gone into introspective mode as to firstly, what went wrong (for Labour and the pollsters), secondly, how long it will be before the Tories shoot themselves in the foot, and thirdly, how the Labour party re-invents itself.

In respect of the latter, the inevitable left-right debate has begun.  The ghost of Blair has walked across the threshold of Brewers Green, and there are as many people advocating a reinvention of New Labour as those disowning it.  How does a party appeal to both an affluent metropolitan middle class and the working class northern voters that were the bedrock of the party?  How does it appeal to Scottish voters without alienating entrepreneurs and business leaders in the South?

Election Day has arrived, and the Iceni Projects Alternative Manifesto promotes a change in the way planning decisions are made. Heritage is so often part of a planning decision, and its ubiquity could present a challenge to the planning promises of the main political parties. Is a step away from the traditional approach to heritage the answer?

Read our easy-to-read guide to housing and planning pledges of each political party and what it means for the development community.

Job creation ✓
Brownfield Land ✓
Strengthening the rural economy ✓
Enhancing the countryside ✓
Protecting endangered species ✓

The Code for Sustainable Homes has been the Government’s sustainability standard of choice for residential new build since 2007. However, this was brought to an end by Eric Pickles on 25 March 2015 as part of a Written Statement to Parliament.

So, we are now well down the road to the General Election on May 7th. Paxman remains the big winner from the Leadership debates, and is princely placed to take over from Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. Conversely, Clarkson is the bookies favourite to be the new warm up act on The Great British Bake-Off. Electric stuff.

The government’s attempt to clarify the vacant building credit (VBC), introduced last November, is generally welcome news for the development industry which has been somewhat perplexed by its practical implementation, although it may raise more questions than it answers.