Professionals in town planning jobs have a key role to play in meeting the UK's housing needs.
Alastair Crowdy, planning and development director and head of planning at property and planning advice provider GL Hearn, told a Property Week webinar that the next decade requires a "frightening amount" of new homes to be delivered.
"Planning, in my view, is the gatekeeper to new development and so the attitude towards planning is fundamental both nationally in terms of the approach to planning and locally," he said.
Mr Crowdy stated that people in town planning jobs will have an important challenge in finding a balance between maintaining build quality while also finding cost efficiency savings.
He suggested that the cost of making planning applications is currently too high and the requirements regarding such submissions should be relaxed.
Earlier this week, a survey from SmartNewHomes.com revealed that 63 per cent of housing developers believe the next government should consider releasing greenbelt sites to help meet property demand.
