HENLEY MP John Howell has been appointed to an expert panel that will examine Local Plans across the country.

Mr Howell will look at plans such as those currently being examined by district councils in Oxfordshire, and will recommend how they could be improved.

Local Plans offer a blueprint for where development will take place in a district over a set number of years.

The plan produced by Cherwell District Council, which set aside space for 22,840 homes by 2031, has led to controversy after initial proposals were deemed not to include enough housing.

Mr Howell was appointed to the role on Monday by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Greg Clark.

Mr Clark said Mr Howell had been instrumental in producing radically shorter national planning policies and he looked forward to him tackling Local Plans, which he believed had become too long.

Mr Howell said: “It is a great pleasure to help the Government achieve the objective of shorter and simpler Local Plans. These must be accessible to all who might want to read them, including members of the public.

“I also have to make sure that the process is less litigious.”