Planning law has been blamed for the current state of the construction sector in the UK.

Speaking at a Property Week webinar, Killian Hurley, chief executive at Mount Anvil, explained house building is in "crisis" at the present time.

Output levels could be at a level lower than seen at any other time in the last 80 years, depending on the statistics you use, he added.

"We are not delivering enough houses. This supply constraint is influenced by a number of factors and the absence of an efficient planning system is one of them," declared Mr Hurley.

He added he is not sure if the government's reform of the current planning law system, along with the introduction of the Localism Act, is going to have a positive impact on the construction industry.

Ian Wilson, head of government affairs at the National Trust, recently said he believes sustainability should be at the heart of changes to planning law made by the coalition.