Responding to the publication of Kate Barker’s interim report on the land use planning system in England, Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation, says:
“We warmly welcome Kate Barker’s analysis of the current planning system. As she states, there is a pressing need for the planning system to become more responsive and efficient, not least with regards to housing. In particular, we note her findings stating that:
The local Government finance system provides little incentive to local authorities to adopt a growth agenda. The HBF believes that consideration should be given to the incorporation of effective financial incentives to encourage local authorities to deliver development when it is in the clear interests of their communities.
The planning process can favour smaller and more concentrated special interest groups at the expense of more diffuse interests. HBF notes that those diffuse interests include the increasing numbers of first-time-buyers who are unable to get onto the property ladder at all. Planning policy needs to ensure that the full needs of the community are taken into account.
Housing plays a central role in the economic development of the country, not least with regards to local labour supply, labour mobility and the creation of business clusters.
There is little appetite for a radical rethink of the planning system and that she will be focusing her final recommendations on making the current system work better. The HBF accepts that the Government has been engaged in a process of significant reform and time is needed for this to bed down and work.
"Housing is fundamental to the social and economic health and development of the country. If housing output remains at the 2005 level, there will be a shortfall of 50,000 homes every year. It is why we need a planning system that is fit for purpose, to allow developers to build the homes that people need.”
Notes for Editors
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal trade federation for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for over 80% of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names through regionally based businesses to small local companies. www.hbf.co.uk
Building on planning reform: Barker publishes interim report, DCLG, 4 July 2006:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2006/press_barker_interim.cfm
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