Savills property consultants in Oxford has welcomed the Government's announcement that the planning application process is to be streamlined.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said the current process will be reviewed, with the aim of producing a faster and more responsive system. In addition, planning aid funding is being doubled to £3.2m this year, so that more local people can use the planning system to shape their communities.

Roger Smith, head of planning at Savills (pictured), said: "This is good news in principle. We welcome any moves which would speed up the planning process.

"Because of all the red tape and unnecessary delays, it currently takes about 15 months from submission to the start of work on site.

"The end result is that it takes ages to identify appropriate sites for development and so there is insufficient land coming forward to meet the country's housing needs."

The review board is likely to look at ways of eliminating unnecessary duplication of paperwork, further delays caused by late completion of legal steps or construction schedules, and how councils can make better use of the Internet.

Mrs Blears pledged to create a planning system that "makes it easier to apply, easier to be heard and easier to be green".