Lord Taylor to head planning guidance review
The government is set to announce a review of planning guidance following the publication of the national planning policy framework earlier this year.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles is understood to have appointed National Housing Federation chair Lord Taylor of Goss Moor to lead the review. He will head up a group of experts including Andrew Whitaker, planning director of the Home Builders Federation.
A formal announcement is expected after the Conservative Party conference, which starts this weekend.
The guidance will replace existing rules, and will support the national planning policy framework, which was published in March.
This was designed to simplify the planning system, but concerns have been raised about its suitability for tackling the growing housing shortage.
The Communities and Local Government department would not confirm the appointment but told Inside Housing an announcement would be made shortly.
A spokesperson for the NHF said it was not aware of the appointment but that Lord Taylor would be ‘an excellent choice’ if he is heading up the planning guidance review.
