After hailing the "proper architectural discussions" that enhance the marbled halls of the Royal Academy of Arts, Gough told The Guardian: "Then the next day, you have to meet some third-rate planning officer in some ghastly borough where they tell you all this slimy rubbish. I cannot conceive that we are on the same planet. It's just a question of what councillors will put up with. It's very exhausting."
RTPI president Mike Hayes refused to take the rant lying down. "Gough is a really good architect, a very bright, intelligent, articulate person, and I've really enjoyed working with him in the past," he said. "But the definition of a good development is a partnership and by constantly knocking planners he does nothing to foster good relations between two professions that need to work together."
