A BURGEONING volume of planning applications has led to an increase in the size of East Hampshire District Council's planning committee and a decision to set aside £200,000 to protect a system under pressure. Government pressure to increase building and changing goal posts that have hindered the adoption of the Joint Core Strategy – the Local Plan drawn up by EHDC in partnership with the South Downs National Parks Authority – has paved the way for an onslaught of greenfield applications, designed to meet Government housing targets but leaving EHDC struggling to put local planning policy into place. It has led to an increased workload for members of EHDC's planning committee, challenged also with the complexity of a planning system left "facing greater demands than ever before". For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.