DCLG and Regentsmead in development talks

The development finance provider and The Department for Communities and Local Government will also discuss access to finance for SMEs.

One of the new ideas will be ‘permission in principle’, which may act as either a precursor or a replacement for full planning permission to quicken up the slow process of gaining full planning permission before development projects can start.

James Bloom, chief executive of Regentsmead, said: “It’s great to be acknowledged and identified as being central to the development finance industry.

“Part of our cause this year has been to help reach SMEs in order to get Britain building again. We have found that access to finance is still a huge issue for SME developers as well as good sites for prospective development projects.

“We look forward to discussing with government officials and helping to tackle these problems head on.”

Bloom added: “The permitted development scheme has shown that a bit of pragmatism in government can go a long way in contributing towards solving the housing crisis.

“Hopefully permission in principle is another step we can take towards this. It has so far proved successful in Scotland and we look forward to debating the intricacies of this proposal in England at DCLG.”