<b><b>Mike Newton, head of planning at the House Builders Federation, argues that the forthcoming planning Green Paper will need to be radical if the government is to fulfil its promise of a faster, more efficient and more flexible system</b></b><br><b>Before the last election, rumours began that there would be a radical overhaul of the planning system. But these seemed to come not from the government department responsible for planning (the old DETR) but from elsewhere in government. The Treasury had prepared a major report on the planning system and the impact of planning on business and the economy was a concern at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and within Number 10. </b><br><b><b>Economic agenda</b></b><br> It was clear that the impetus for change came from the government's agenda for business efficiency and economic performance. The House Builders Federation was aware of this and had started talking to the Treasury and DTI about the failure of the system in these terms. <p></p><p>Sure enough, the formal announcement of a review of the planning system was made by the chancellor, Gordon Brown, just two weeks after the election. He talked of detailed proposals for modernising the planning system in a Green Paper due this …