Sir – When the Government published its plans to change the planning system last year, we were horrified. Its draft National Planning Policy Framework had a one-sided focus on economic development with a complete disregard for any environmental or social outcomes.

Since then, many of your readers have joined with the Campaign to Protect Rural England in expressing their concerns, not least through the pages of The Oxford Times. The final framework has now been published and we are happy to report significant steps in the right direction.

The document now includes a definition of sustainable development, has a renewed emphasis on using brownfield sites and, most importantly of all, recognises the intrinsic value of the countryside in its own right.

Of course, concerns remain. There is still a worrying focus on short-term economic objectives rather than long-term thinking. And the wording is still vague and imprecise enough to leave no one but lawyers entirely happy.

In particular, local authorities will only have 12 months to get their core strategies (local plans for development) in place, otherwise the national policy will apply and the wishes of local people may be ignored. This will prove challenging for many of our Oxfordshire district councils, as only Oxford city has a core strategy in place.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who stood up for our countryside, and reassure them that CPRE will be continuing to monitor the impacts of the policy as it is implemented.

Helen Marshall, Director, CPRE Oxfordshire