The clock is already ticking on what could prove an acid test of the Government's high profile commitment to streamlining of the planning system to promote economic growth and its rhetoric on localism.

Members of the House of Commons transport committee are expected to deliver their verdict on the controversial HS2 - a new high-speed rail line between London and the West Midlands - next month, with the formal hearings on their inquiry into the strategic business case for the route now closed.