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Planning system 'needs to be clarified'

Thursday, 27 January 2011 12:26 PM

The UK's current planning system needs clarification as soon as possible in order to boost the house building industry's recovery from recession, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF).

Steve Turner, head of communications at the HBF, told AboutProperty that developers were currently being held back by a shortage of suitable plots.

"We have seen planning permissions drop and there is not enough developable, viable land coming through the planning system. We need to see the new planning system clarified and brought into operation quickly," he added.

His comments follow the latest Federation of Master Builders (FMB) report, which suggested that construction workloads have fallen for 12 consecutive quarters and that the industry is entering its fourth successive year of decline.

Turner went on to say that, in addition to land supply, another constraint currently facing house builders is the lack of mortgage availability.

The expert argued that this must be addressed in order for Britain to benefit from a "more positive outlook" in the coming months.

According to the FMB report, the proportion of firms reporting higher workloads fell from 31 per cent in the third quarter of 2010 to 22 per cent in the final quarter, while those indicating declining workloads increased to 38 per cent.

Meanwhile, a report by Glenigan for the HBF published at the start of January revealed a sharp fall in housing approvals.

Planning permissions to build new homes were found to have dropped alarmingly from 2007 figures and are now at one of their lowest levels in the past five years.

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