I have always believed that decisions about new developments and house building should be taken locally, and that brownfield development should always be prioritised ahead of building on the countryside.

I am pleased to say that it is these principles that now underpin our planning laws. When I was first elected as an MP in 2010, the Government introduced the Localism Act to support local councils to develop evidence-based housing plans.

Suffolk’s towns and parishes were also supported to develop their own neighbourhood plans.

Thanks to these important Government reforms, the top-down regional housing targets - so beloved of John Prescott - were scrapped, and Whitehall civil servants, who had never set foot in Suffolk, lost the power to impose massive new housing developments on our county.

It is because of my belief in protecting the countryside from over-development, and letting councils take the lead in developing evidence-based housing growth plans based upon local need, that I raised concerns about potential new changes to the planning system that would have fast-tracked developments without proper local consultation.

I am pleased to say that I succeeded, and these changes have now been scrapped. The importance of local consultation and decision making in the planning process continues to be protected.

That is not to say that our local councils always get planning decisions right. The decision of Ipswich Borough Council to prioritise the building of 4,000 new houses on the green fields and prime agricultural land of the northern fringe, instead of regenerating town centre brownfield land is both unpopular and wrong.

Our local councils also sometimes forget to ensure that developers pay their fair share towards the essential health, educational and other infrastructure that must come with any new housing.

However, it is very embarrassing for me, when as an MP, I stand up for Suffolk’s local councils to remain the key decision-makers in determining where new houses can and cannot be built, to then find that the planning officers on those same local councils decide to over-ride the community-led planning policies and decisions they are meant to uphold.

After much consultation within the local community, Framlingham developed a neighbourhood plan, which allowed for development to take place in the right parts of the town.

But, for reasons that still remain unclear, and against that neighbourhood plan, planning officers at East Suffolk District Council took the extraordinary decision to recommend approval for a development of 49 new houses on Victoria Mill Lane.

This decision by the planning officers represented a significant departure from the Framlingham neighbourhood plan. It was wrong.

As an MP, I do not make local planning decisions, but I felt compelled to intervene by writing to the planning committee with compelling reasons why they should ignore the officer advice and reject the housing proposals put forward for Victoria Mill Lane.

I am pleased to confirm that my intervention was taken into account and I am very grateful to the councillors for listening. I would particularly like to thank Cllr Maurice Cook for all he did to stand up for the best interests of their residents and protect the integrity of the neighbourhood plan process.

But this could have been avoided, and I hope the East Suffolk Council planning department will learn lessons for the future.

As recent events in Framlingham have shown, local councils do not always get it right, but in general, I would much rather they were in control of Suffolk’s planning and house building processes than civil servants sitting hundreds of miles away at a desk in Whitehall.

As we look forward, we must now better harness locally-led planning policies for the benefit of our county town of Ipswich.

The Government has given Ipswich £25 million of town's fund money for important projects across the town, and there will be more to come.

But if we are to fully realise the future potential of our county town, this money must be now used in a co-ordinated way and in combination with sensible regeneration plans for Ipswich town centre.

- Dan Poulter is the Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.