As well as assessing what has been achieved in the government’s first eight months in office, the plan for growth outlines potential initiatives to increase housing delivery, secure greater levels of investment and regenerate high streets and town centres.

The overarching premise of the plan is that policy stability and consistency, combined with a supportive political climate, is most likely to ensure that the real estate sector can play a full part in delivering the government’s agenda.

The BPF says that additional planners could solidify planning reform gains and support devolution and local government reorganisation by enabling new spatial strategies and aiding mayors in determining major applications.

These additional planners could be part funded through the re-use of efficiency savings from council re-organisation, the introduction of mayoral council tax precepts and greater cost recovery from applicants.

In addition to 3,000 extra planners, the BPF is also calling for urgent additional resource to be allocated to the building safety regulator, to unlock the delivery of thousands of new homes and prevent homes that have already been built remaining unoccupied.

Expressing its beliefs on housing delivery, the BPF emphasised the importance of BTR and has called on local planning authorities to assess the need for private rented housing in their local plans.

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This includes a provision to include both older people’s housing and PBSA.

In addition to market supply, the BPF believes that further investment in affordable housing can be unlocked through levelling the playing field between for-profit and non-profit providers, plus implementing a 10-year rent settlement.

On building stronger town centres, the BPF argued that a Town Centre Investment Zone model, maximising the levers available to local partners to rejuvenate prescribed areas, should be used.

Melanie Leech CBE, CEO at the BPF, commented: “The government has moved at pace in its first few months in office, especially on planning reform.

“This now needs to be matched by a clear long-term plan to maximise the real estate sector’s full economic, social and environmental potential.

“Planning reform remains fundamental to delivering the government’s agenda and must be matched by additional capacity to deliver this.

“An additional 3,000 planners need to be deployed across England to help unlock the full potential of the system changes.

“On top of this we need urgent action to provide extra resource to key bodies like the building safety regulator, where delays are currently holding back the delivery and occupation of thousands of homes across the country for up to a year.

“We also invite the government to work with us to tackle further regulatory barriers and to address current viability challenges.

“With this partnership, our plan will help secure the future of our high streets, help to deliver new homes of all tenures, and could generate 25% of the UK’s future clean energy needs.”