THIS week sees the King’s Speech — the setting out of the new government’s legislative agenda for the coming session of parliament.

This sets the timetable for the next year, or so, until the next King’s Speech.

There’s a lot of pomp, ceremony and tradition, including a ceremonial search for barrels of gunpowder under the Lords Chamber, a nod to the Gunpowder Plot.

But behind all this is a serious setting out of legislation.

Over the coming week there will be a lot of analysis about it all, in detail far deeper than space allows me here.

In any event, this speech only sets out the headlines, not the fine detail of new laws.

The focus, we are told, is on economic growth.

The starting point for this is housebuilding and infrastructure.

This is an interesting proposition because housebuilding is seen as an indicator of the start of a period of economic growth, not the driver.

But the new government is keen on this so they will be cutting local planning processes to allow more development.

And local objection will also be ignored on things like onshore wind farms, solar farms and grid development.

We have already seen this approach in action.

The new energy minister has thrown out objections in East Anglia for a 2,700-acre solar farm on prime agricultural land and allowed this development to go ahead. Residents are furious.

We already know about planning here in Wyre Forest. The local plan here took years to pass and whilst there are many who are dismayed about some of the developments at least the process considered local objections.

But this highlights how tricky planning processes can be, even with a locally-driven process.

However, we also know what it is like when things go wrong. In Areley Kings, where neighbouring Malvern Hills District Council failed to put forward a local plan, developers have been able to push through unanimously-loathed housing developments.

The same applies with regulations regarding telegraph poles for broadband.

We know we need houses. We need infrastructure too.

But should we hand back devolved powers over things like planning to central government?

Governing is all about subtle balance and compromise. Push anything too hard and the electorate pushes back.

My guess is that this change in planning laws will not be thought about too much until we suddenly see 10,000 houses forced on us here.