Britain's builders are facing to prospect of constructing cheaper homes if the government decides to lower affordable housing thresholds.A report commissioned by the Greater London Authority and the Government Office for London recommends that the thresholds, which set targets for the number of affordable homes in a development, should be reduced.

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Richard Burge, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: "We are right behind the GLA and the Government Office on this report. The Countryside Alliance has long been calling for more affordable housing, especially in the south of England, where young people are simply unable to afford to live in areas they have grown up in.

"Rural people have been priced out of the rural market, and we must reverse this trend. I think it is sensible to allow local authorities to set their own thresholds - what works in Surrey will probably not work in Devon, so there must be an element of discretion.

"The deputy prime minister, in a statement to the House last year, announced that he intends to intervene in planning applications for housing that involves a density of less than 30 dwellings per hectare.

"The Alliance acknowledges the reason for intervention in urban areas, but feels in the countryside the deputy prime minister should apply some common sense and recognise that there will be cases where the housing density will be lower than his proposals. One caveat to this good news is that cheaper should not mean lower quality or unsafe - there is a margin to bring prices down and not compromise".

Forum Response: Construction Products Association

Allan Wilen, economics director of the Construction Products Association, told ePolitix.com: "The shortage of affordable housing in London is a major cause of concern both for public sector and private sector employers, including those within the construction industry."However, the Construction Products Association is seriously concerned by the possible implications of imposing more strenuous affordable housing requirements on new developments in section 102 agreements."Requirements to provide affordable housing at the current thresholds of 15 and 25 homes already acts as a dampener on the construction of new homes. A slowing housing market is making developers nervous and new thresholds of five and 10 homes, or worse the abolition of thresholds altogether, threatens to result in fewer sites being put forward for redevelopment and a slowdown of construction of all new housing."

Forum Response: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

A spokesman for RICS told ePolitix.com: "The RICS supports initiatives that will deliver more housing in London and the South East - both market and affordable housing. The RICS considers that the factors affecting viability need to be carefully considered and whilst their may be scope to lower the threshold for the provision of affordable housing, it has to be recognised that developers and landowners will face proportionately higher costs in seeking to conclude affordable housing agreements on small sites, compared with larger ones.

"Research carried out for the Government Office for London, ODPM and GLA last year by ATIS REAL Weatheralls has demonstrated that London borough planning departments simply do not have the expertise to prepare the appraisals which might assist in defining how much subsidy can realistically be provided by the planning system from housing sites, whether they be large or small.

"Affordable housing is just one element of the cocktail of 'planning gain' benefits, which local authorities seek from developers. There is a risk that unless these mechanisms are clearly understood, boroughs may seek too much from landowners, resulting in negative behavioural response - there is a real risk, particularly if land values begin to fall, that the planning system will stultify rather than stimulate the provision of new housing that London so desperately needs.

"The RICS is concerned that the rationale for "planning gain" is being high-jacked in London to provide more affordable housing. The long established principle is that the benefits from planning agreements may enable development, that might otherwise be open to planning objection, to become acceptable.

"These new proposals to abandon thresholds, are likely to further devalue the planning system as we know it, by requiring that all housing sites contribute towards affordable housing. A lighter touch is required. In some boroughs, the thrust should be more towards providing a greater proportion of market housing on most sites to encourage a balanced social structure. A de rigiste approach is unwarranted and could plainly have unfortunate consequences for housing provision in the capital."