In his Pre-Budget Statement on Wednesday December 6 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, indicated that he is going to action recommendations made by the Barker Review into housing supply. He shares the Review’s concern over limited supply in the British housing market, and the increasing unaffordability of homes.

The Chancellor announced that he intended to implement the report’s recommendation of the setting up of a Regional Planning Executive, which would take decisions on larger development schemes. Central government, he said, would lay down strategic guidelines, but this Executive would be independent of both local and national government.

Many provisions contained in The Barker Review will appear in a White Paper to be published in the spring, but leading property consultants Strutt & Parker welcome this first move.

As Roger Pryor, Head of Strutt & Parker’s London Residential Development Department, says, ‘The establishment of an independent Executive is a significant step forward and potentially it will take major planning decisions out of both the local and national political arenas.

‘A key Barker proposal increases emphasis on the plan led system backed up by an assumption that where the plan is indeterminate a consent should be granted unless environmental, social and economic costs will exceed the respective benefits.

‘In her previous report Barker concluded that many more homes need to be built, and a way out of the current planning impasse has been needed for a long time. The Chancellor went on to say that the number of designated brownfield sites would be increased to up to 130,000 immediately. This is a major increase, and if these two aspects are taken together it looks as if we may see a real freeing up within the existing system.

‘In addition we need to look again at the possibility of greenfield development. There is a limit to how much development can take place on previously used land, and in the South East – where the demand is highest – there will be a need to consider greenfield sites. The Barker Review said that areas of green belt could not be seen as absolutely sacrosanct, and that’s an important statement.

‘The Chancellor has endorsed Kate Barker’s report and he is undoubtedly right to do so. We need a greatly increased supply of building land – and very much sooner rather than later.’

Roger Pryor concluded: ‘On a negative note the Chancellor has also provided for the introduction of Planning Gain Supplement (PGS) in 2009. Previous attempts to tax development gains have failed and have reduced the available supply of development land. There is no reason to expect a different result with the current proposals. This will entirely defeat Barkers positive proposals’.