According to the Radix Big Tent Housing Commission, a mandatory approach to strategic planning at the sub-regional/city region should be restored.
The Radix Big Tent Housing Commission is chaired by Alex Notay, who took over from Dame Kate Barker after the latter was appointed to the New Towns Taskforce.
The commission's final report "Beyond the Permacrisis - Delivering 1,000 Homes a Day" states that doing so would support the plan-led system to free up planners for spatial planning rather than regulatory development management.
The report said strategic planning would "make a plan-led system viable" and allow "planners to be planners".
It added that, to ensure a co-ordinated approach to strategic planning in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, a team should be established to work across departments. It also proposed the establishment of a cross-departmental Housing Delivery Unit.
The report stated working together would ensure that strategic plans "fully support growth", and the delivery unit could coordinate housing policy delivery across government and engage with stakeholders such as the Bank of England and utility regulators.
The report's recommendations intended to help deliver the 1,000 homes a day needed during the current Parliament if the government is to meet its target of delivering 1.5 million homes.
It identified a series of viability issues affecting housing delivery, including:
Other recommendations in the report included:
Notay, the main author of the report, said: "Most indicators show that the housing market is now in a worse state than it was two decades ago. In particular, there has been a failure to link new housing with infrastructure delivery and also, since the financial crisis, a further decline in the supply of new social rent homes".
"The golden thread of our recommendations is to urge the government to ensure that any policy change is assessed against every aspect of the housing ecosystem. Unblocking the various viability issues addressed in our report – alongside the strategic planning proposals we make – would be transformative. It is possible to do this if these bold recommendations are acted on holistically and proactively".
Lisa Tye, Commissioner and Living Sector Co-head at Shoosmiths, added: "The goal of this commission was to identify and propose actionable, pragmatic solutions to address England’s housing crisis. We engaged experts from across the real estate industry, who shared their insights on operating in the current market and explored how a combination of major reforms and incremental changes could help foster a better environment to ensure delivery on the ground – addressing the planning system, unlocking investment, creating jobs and opportunities, and delivering a diverse mix of new homes".
Responding to the report, Victoria Hills, Chief Executive at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), said it offered "clear and sensible recommendations for the future of house building".
"It underscores the essential link between homes and infrastructure, adopting a holistic approach to housing and planning – issues we have long championed".
"However, it also serves as a timely reminder that planning reform alone is not a silver bullet for solving the housing crisis. Without a comprehensive housing strategy, greater involvement from local and combined authorities, and improved funding approaches, we will fail to deliver the quality homes needed in the right places".
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