<b></b>Planning and housing minister Lord Falconer has made his presence felt in his new position by calling for a sharp improvement in performance by local planning authorities. He was reacting to new figures that reveal that the authorities were performing well below the government's required target. <br><b>The new minister replaced the well-respected Nick Raynsford in the post election reshuffle to the disappointment of much of the industry. But he is set to push ahead with the modernisation of the planning system which, if successful, will allay any fears that the planning portfolio has suffered for the change. </b><br><b>A green paper will be published in the autumn on modernising planning which chancellor Gordon Brown said will put &amp;"an even higher premium on speed, efficiency and flexibility.' </b><br><b>This has given rise to concerns in some quarters that the public right to object to developments will be taken away. The Town and Country Planning Association has said that while the measures to speed up the planning process were much-needed they should not be at the expense of &amp;"quality community involvement&amp;".</b><br><b> Lord Falconer will take forward the modernisation and has set his stall out early by criticising planning authorities for missing their targets. </b><br><b>The …