Opposition MPs have reacted with dismay to reports that the Government's widely-criticised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will contain no significant changes when it is published alongside the Budget later this month.

The draft NPPF published by planning minister Greg Clark last year met with fierce opposition from some local government experts, after ministers insisted on proceeding with their 'presumption' in favour of 'sustainable development' – leading critics to claim the UK would be awash with locally unpopular developments.