Barker report proposes housing and planning shake-up
Whitehall has been urged to adopt a package of measures designed to improve the housing supply following publication of the final Barker report.
The report argued that up to 120,000 extra private houses may be needed annually, alongside between 17,000 and 23,000 extra units of affordable housing.
The report also recommended further reforms to the planning system beyond proposed changes to the regime set out in the government’s Planning Bill.
The report made a case that planning bodies should take greater account of market signals such as changes in housing prices and levels of market affordability, in setting housing gargets and allocating land.
The Barker review suggested planning authorities should allocate ‘buffers’ of additional land that could be released for development as triggered by indicators of unexpectedly high demand.
The report said more robust strategies are needed at a regional level and proposes that regional housing and planning bodies are amalgamated as regional planning executives that would offer on the scale and allocation of housing within regions.
The report also called for a community infrastructure fund of between £100m to £200m, more use of urban development corporations (UDC) and similar delivery mechanisms.
In addition the report made a case for English Partnerships (EP) to play a lead role in delivering development by assembling land and managing the issues around complex sites.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott welcomed the report and said: "Kate Barker sets out the challenges we face in the south and housing collapse in the north.
"We are already making changes to the planning system and increasing funding for affordable housing.
"However, as Kate Barker’s report makes clear, we need to do more to increase the supply of affordable and sustainable homes."
The government accepted the need for reform and plans to implement a programme of change as recommended in the review but not before the end of next year.
This is when Whitehall plans to look at the impact of planning reforms, the effect of the 2004 spending review and the reaction of the development industry to the challenges identified in the Barker Report.
View 'Delivering stability: securing our future housing needs'.
Roger Milne
18th March 2004
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