<p>Barratt Developments has called for planning policy to reflect the shift to working from home, triggered by the pandemic.</p> <p>The volume housebuilder has launched a report with national planning consultancy Lichfields, which suggests the need for dedicated home working spaces within new build properties and the necessity for local planning policies to be “urgently reviewed”. </p> <p><i><a href="https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/working-from-home">Working from home: Planning for the new normal</a></i>, cites a survey by polling company Savanta ComRes, revealing that 49% of households believed their current home was not suitable for home working, with <span>residents</span> “struggling to do their job effectively from their dining room table or bedroom”. Meanwhile, only 28% of respondents had dedicated study or home office space.</p> <p>The report also shows that, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, working from home for at least some of the week has become a feature for “millions of people” across all age groups. </p> <p>Barratt added that an estimated 7.5 million people in the UK hope to work from home on a permanent basis, double the pre-lockdown estimate.</p> <p>But, according to the report, many local authorities instil policies dictating how many bedrooms should be provided in new build homes, with a bias often towards …