The planning minister has floated the idea that 1,500 square miles of countryside has to be built on to meet housing needs.
People, he says, will have to accept building on Greenfield sites, if their children and grandchildren are to have houses to live in.
Declarations of intent like this have been made regularly over the years but actually getting more houses built has so far eluded the powers that be.
Some people who hear this on the news might mistakenly think planning applications for building houses anywhere in the countryside will now sail through. They are likely to be disappointed. The minister’s views do not change or override current policies.