Mike speaks with Steve Chandler, Building & Property Development Expert and Managing Director of LEFTA, about whether councils should be giving in to NIMBYism.

As residents and local businesses push back against fast-food developments, councils are increasingly caught in the crossfire.

But if a proposal meets planning controls, should councils reject it simply because people object?

Steve argues councils aren’t health arbiters or market referees. Business competition is inevitable, personal food choices are individual decisions, and health concerns belong with health authorities - not local councils.

Forcing councils to police these debates, he says, only slows real priorities, like approving much-needed housing.