How many reports does it take to make housing affordable and energy efficient?

In conclusion...

If John Callcutt, on your behalf as Government, really wants to deliver many more energy efficient homes, and make them more affordable, he will not bother to look yet again at internal construction industry “improvement”, or planning administration reform.

Callcutt will instead break free of the numeric limit of 200,000 homes you have placed on his review, and look at making cheap land, run through with new infrastructure, ready for development on a massive scale.

Then the rest of us can build again. Because there is no skills shortage, or materials problem, supply chain frustration, business model insufficiency, or house building convention that cannot be resolved if there is planning approved land to build upon in vast quantities. Many professional planners and the planning committees they serve want to work with the people who can build bigger and better plans – you should let them. Then the construction industry will double or treble as a business to deliver that new development, and you will see all the innovation you crave.

How many reports does it take to make housing affordable and energy efficient? Only the one that finally says “Let’s Build!” on a scale and to a quality never yet achieved in Britain.

Instead, if Callcutt follows the 200,000 limit you have placed on his terms of reference he will do no more than add to the lengthy reading list of reports that has been compiled already.

Perhaps you agree that would be pointless?

Ian Abley 14.03.2007 (part 3 of 3)

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