A report by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee highlights the lack of skilled planners in the country, and warns that regeneration could leave the planning system unable to manage the volume or variety of tasks required between now and 2020.

Despite these problems being recognised for more than a decade, little has been done to put them right, the committee found. The report recommends the government to raise the status of planning within local authorities, and improve training and skills within the departments.

Local authorities process around 650,000 planning applications every year, however - the number of new planning officers has failed to match this growth.