The House Builders Association (HBA) has welcomed the Prime Minister's David Cameron call for a reform in the planning process.

The PM made the announcement during his closing speech of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Mr Cameron said: "Those old rules which said to developers: you can build on this site, but only if you build affordable homes for rent... we are replacing them with new rules: you can build here, and those affordable homes can be available to buy."

Rico Wojtulewicz, HBA's policy advisor, said the organisation appreciated the emphasis on simplifying planning rules.


"However, there is much work that still needs to be done to level the playing field between large volume and SME house builders, " he said.

"For instance, restoring small sites exemption from affordable homes contribution will help ensure that SME house builders can operate in a more collaborative system."

Mr Wojtulewicz added: "Another area for concern remains the extension of Right to Buy to housing association tenants.

"Although the new version of the policy will allow social landlords to opt-out of this scheme under certain special circumstances, the government must still confront the facts.

"With only one home built for every nine sold under Right to Buy, the depletion of the social housing stock is a tangible concern.

"We run the risk of turning Generation Buy into Generation Hard Done Buy."

In his speech, the PM also stated 600,000 homes had been built since 2010.

The HBA has called on the government to measure the actual homes completed that people can move into, rather than just those started.

It is concerned the 600,000 figure "does not reflect the reality".

(LM/CD)