Clean up planning system if you want modern homes, ODPM told

Town planners' roles should be redefined and more planning submissions outsourced to private firms to ensure the government's vision of building modern homes is realised.

These calls form part of a report requested by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister from the Housing Forum late last year and sent to the ODPM just before Christmas.

Planning Reform to Facilitate Off-Site Manufacturing is intended to guide government policy with regard to its recently announced planning and compulsory purchase bill and the upcoming Communities Plan.

The other main areas outlined for attention by the Housing Forum are:

• outline planning consent should be more robust
  
• the planning process should be more predictable so off-site manufacturers can deliver their products on time
  
• the role of planners should be redefined to stop them acting as "design police".

Dr Ashley Lane, group technical director at housebuilder Westbury and co-author of the report, said: "The present planning system is neither consistent nor predictable and impacts adversely on the ability of manufacturers to deliver OSM housing on time."

Lane said the introduction of a qualification in planning submissions and the greater use of planning consultants to ease the burden on under-resourced planning departments would go a long way towards solving the problems.

Deputy prime minister John Prescott has attended a number of meetings regarding the work of the off-site manufacturing group at the Housing Forum, to learn more about modern construction techniques like modular housing.

Such techniques can give rapid results and Prescott hopes they can contribute to solving the UK's current crisis in housing provision.