Planning system review welcomed

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has said it welcomes the new review of the planning system announced by the government.

In its study, the government has said it will aim to speed up the process of planning.

Such a change may help those building their own homes obtain permission sooner.

HBF executive chairman Stuart Baseley said that the key test for the review was to ensure it produced a system that was "fit for purpose for the 21st century", noting that the current average planning process takes 15 months.

He argued that this was holding back the aims of meeting Britain's housebuilding needs.

Making the announcement of the review, communities secretary Hazel Blears had said that by cutting bureaucracy "we can create a planning system for people that makes it easier to apply, easier to be heard and easier to be".


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