The challenge for the UK housing industry in the 1980s and the planning system

The paper provides a review of the factors which have shaped the housing industry in the UK over the past 30 years. It describes the market for new houses, the housebuilders response, the influence of the costs of housebuilding on the financial structure offirms and the development of design standards. The implications of these factors are related to the major problem of redeveloping inner cities. This in turn identifies the need for a radically new approach to planning. A new planning system is proposed in which the role of central government and the districts is modified and the counties are replaced by regional planning commissions with wider responsibilities.