The boss of a regional housebuilder hopes new planning rules in the pipeline will reduce bottlenecks which have dogged some of its most popular developments.
Lee Barnard, chief executive of Denbury Homes at Westley, Bury St Edmunds, has welcomed the government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which is out for consultation until March 10.
The draft framework is part of a major government drive to get more homes built.
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It sets compulsory targets for local authorities with the aim of driving housing development - especially in areas where residents are being priced out.
It calls for "greybelt" land to be released for housing - a move which environmentalists fear will have a negative effect on nature - and introduces a presumption in favour of "sustainable" development.
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“As a company we see many of the measures in the draft policy as positive steps towards easing the burden on planning departments," said Mr Barnard.
Planning departments were under-resourced, over-stretched - and faced onerous bureaucratic burdens, he said.
"Denbury Homes works hard to propose developments that are appropriate for an area, so we are not fearful of planning applications being refused.
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"But in recent years some of our most popular developments have been dogged by delay. Giving overstretched officers readily accessible guidance should help reduce these bottlenecks."
His company wanted to see "the right homes in the right places", he said.
“We applaud that the new NPPF seeks to address this.
"Councils are mandated to deliver homes, but the actual mechanics of delivery are down to developers.
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"Creating clarity in the policy environment will go some way to reducing administrative obstacles that can hinder housing growth."
There has been "a proliferation" of roles such as landscape, heritage, ecology, administrative and environmental officials - rather than housing officers which were more urgently required, he said.
The consultative roles only add to an expectation on developers to supply more information - adding red tape and costs to planning applications, he added.
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"The new NPPF aims to reduce this expectation and streamline the process while still safeguarding heritage, landscape and ecology.
"This should speed up planning decisions by reducing the volume of information required from housebuilders while still restricting poorly designed development."
Mr Barnard also welcomed requirements to include adaptions to climate change in plans.
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