<b><b>For years housebuilding has been unfavourably compared with the car industry. But just imagine if a new regulatory system was applied to the motor trade - let&amp;’s call it &amp;“planning&amp;”. What would happen then?</b></b><br><b>Off-site fabrication, after-sales service, customer care, brand loyalty - it has often been suggested that there are many lessons that could be taken from the motor industry and transferred to the world of housebuilding. </b><br> I have no problem with this idea even though, in my part of the world, this so-called beacon industry has declined somewhat. My first British car was a Triumph, my last was an unmitigated disaster. Luckily, as a result of many years of direct state intervention, nobody makes these anymore.<p></p><p> Setting this aside, I sometimes wonder whether the motor industry would be able to flourish under the sort of regulatory system that applies to the manufacture and sale of new homes. </p><p> Imagine that, instead of a single, unitary authority such as the DVLA, there was a system of local administrators and lay people who would determine local needs and preferences before sanctioning the construction and/or purchase of new cars. </p><p> For argument&amp;’s sake, we could call this &amp;“planning&amp;” and use it …