A group of leading businessmen and industrialists has written to The Times blaming a 'creaking planning system' for deterring inward investment and stalling the ability of UK businesses seeking to expand.

The 22 signatories - who include Dragons Den tycoon Duncan Bannatyne,  BT chief exec Ian Livingstone, and former Marks and Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose – support changes proposed in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and complain seven out of ten businesses are currently locked out of local planning debates.