Lipton and Rouse call for watchdog to focus on design reviews and produce fewer reports.

Cabe needs to “get real” in the face of swingeing government cuts and seek public funding only for its design review function, its founding bosses claimed this week.

Speaking at a London property event on Wednesday morning, inaugural chief executive Jon Rouse and chairman Stuart Lipton said the 10-year-old quango should farm out its non-core activities and concentrate solely on design review.

“Smaller government means smaller [numbers of] people” Stuart Lipton

“Smaller government means smaller [numbers of] people”

Stuart Lipton

The comments come on the eve of Cabe’s latest annual report and just a week after the government cut a further £1 million from its budget when it stopped funding for its design advice on BSF.

“Cabe needs to get back to basics,” said Rouse, who was in post at Cabe for five years and is now chief executive of Croydon Council.

“When I started [at Cabe] there were eight people. It should keep design review but hive off all the other stuff and fund it through charity or a benefactor. It needs to cut its cloth accordingly.”

Chelsfield boss Lipton, who also oversaw Cabe for five years, agreed that job losses within Cabe’s 125 strong payroll were now inevitable.

“Smaller government means smaller [numbers of] people,” he said, adding that the design watchdog produced too many reports. “They look good on the shelves but who reads them?” he remarked.

The two also agreed that Cabe should avoid charging for design reviews because of the risk of conflicts of interest.

Rouse suggested the organisation had yet to grasp the full meaning of the country’s huge deficit and the agenda of the new government.

“I have been in [Croydon Council] cabinet meetings where we have to make very difficult decisions about funding,” he said.

“Cabe seems more concerned about getting its reports out. It needs to get real. We’re all having to cut so why should Cabe be any different?”

Cabe spokesman Matt Bell said 235,000 people read its publications last year, with a satisfaction rating of 95%.

“Like every other public body, we anticipate having less cash,” he said. “But offering support at just one stage of the development process [design review] doesn’t ensure good design.

“Individual projects get built out in the context of a plan. And planning is shaped by public demand as well as technical advice.”

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