A columnist in the Financial Times says the remit of Kate Barker’s housing supply review was too narrow.
Martin Wolf writes that the issue should not be how to increase housing supply, but how to use the country’s scarce land more efficiently.
He says that while Barker’s report has brought out the absurdity of the UK’s planning regulations, changes should not aim only at increasing the supply of housing.
He says the fact that land is scarce does not mean that as much as possible should remain undeveloped but that it should be used more sensibly.
References: Financial Times 14/05/04 page 19 (Martin Wolf)
