These wins are a huge victory for the countryside, including:

 * An abandoning of damaging, centralised mandatory housing targets that have led to needless, unaffordable and poorly designed greenfield developments, in favour of an advisory system that takes local character and need into account

 * An end to landbanking – the practice developers use to sit on land they have acquired permission for while it accrues in value - a huge cause of the lack of housing being actually built

 * Stronger regulation of the short-term holiday lets market that’s been crippling many rural communities – from greater council tax
   charges to a new registration scheme for holiday lets

* Local authorities given greater powers to promote brownfield development , and a wider review into brownfield development

These and other successes will be built into the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, currently going through parliament. They are the result of years of campaigning and research that you have been a central part of, culminating in an unstoppable backbench rebellion that saw the government cave in to our demands.

Today is a day the countryside, and the communities living within it, can breathe a sigh of relief. But from local democracy to rural affordable housing, nature protection to the climate emergency, there’s still a lot of work to do to truly ensure the Levelling Up Bill truly creates a planning system that has people, the countryside and the climate at its heart.

The next debate on the Bill is expected within the coming week and The Countryside charity is working hard with all the MPs to reach a positive outcome.