If the government is serious about improving design quality in housing it must invest in local planning authorities, the boss of Berkeley Homes has said.

“If you want to improve the quality of design you’ve got to reduce the bureaucracy and change the culture of planning. More planning officers, please,” Tony Pidgley, chairman of Berkeley, told the Housing Ministry (MHCLG)’s Design Quality Conference.

The conference, with speeches from ministers Sajid Javid and Dominic Raab, brought together architects, planners, housebuilders and housing associations to discuss how good design can help get more housing built.