<b></b><p></p><p><b><b>Housing minister Nick Raynsford had a tough message for delegates at HBF's Manchester conference on PPG3 last month. Pierre Williams was there to hear it</b></b><br><b>In December the government published a wide-ranging package of planning reforms led by a Green Paper called Delivering a Fundamental Change. This was accompanied by separate consultation papers on planning obligations, compulsory purchase and new parliamentary procedures for major projects. We have until March 18 to respond.</b><br><b><b>Major questions</b></b><br> The planning system governs the output of the industry more than any other. The Green Paper poses major questions and the industry needs to decide where it stands and respond with one voice that carries authority and influence. </p><p><b><b>The backdrop</b></b><br> There have been major political and policy changes since Labour came to power in 1997 that now form the backdrop to the current proposals. </p><p>The late 1990s saw a rising tide of anti-development feeling, given forceful expression by politicians and the media. This reflected some deep-seated prejudice against development and housebuilding in particular. The government responded with radical changes in policy, principally through the revision of PPG3. There were three main changes:</p><p>a shift in the land resource to urban brownfieldsmuch greater emphasis on quality and design (and higher …