22 October 2004
Social landlords have hit back at private developers' demands that new national planning guidance on housing should not be too prescriptive.
According to the National Housing Federation, it is vital the guidance leads to the right mixture of homes and is not thwarted by builders or groups opposed to further development.
The House Builders' Federation has warned that planning policy guidance 3 (PPG3), due shortly from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, should not constrain the market or reduce local authority discretion over future housing schemes.
But the NHF, representing housing associations, says many key workers and first-time buyers will be priced out of new homes unless there is planning reform.
Jim Coulter, who this week announced his retirement as chief executive of the federation, said: 'We must not allow property developers to divert planning policy reforms that will produce the mixed tenure communities of the future. Local authorities need to have the support of PPG3 if they are to insist on a better mix of housing to address overcrowding and accessibility.'
Coulter, who is 60 next year, will leave the NHF in June after 16 years as chief executive.
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