21
Aug
Government should reform planning system 'to respond to housing
demand'
The government needs to consider making reforms to the construction
planning system in order to meet the demand for housing, according
to a trade association.
Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of
Master Builders, which was established over 60 years ago to protect
the interests of small and medium-sized building firms, said that
finding land with planning permission is currently problematic for
those constructing properties.
His comments follow the publication of statistics by Communities
and Local Government, which show a 63 per cent increase in the
number of building projects undertaken during the second quarter,
along with a 24 per cent rise in completions over the same period
of time.
"[One] problem is finding sufficient land with planning permission,
which means that we need to be looking at reforms of the planning
system to make it more responsive to housing demand across the
country," said Mr Berry.
