A KENT expert hired by John Prescott to sort out the nation’s planning "prevention" crisis has vowed to speed things up.

Paul Hudson, who takes over as chief planner at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in June, says he wants to make the planning system "deliver what customers want".

Britain’s complex planning regime has been blamed for delaying vital projects and costing vast sums of public money.

Heathrow Terminal 5 is often cited. But there have also been long delays in the county.

Some local residents – often dubbed NIMBYs (Not in My Back Yard) – have fiercely resisted projects that developers claim are vital for job creation and economic prosperity.

Cllr Paul Carter, leader of Kent County Council, recently criticised councils across the county for operating "planning prevention departments".

In his new role, Mr Hudson, from Maidstone, will probe the reasons for planning delays. It follows Treasury concerns about the whole process and how it impedes development.

"My interest is making the planning system deliver what the customer wants," he said.

While recognising a variety of standards among local districts, he hoped Cllr Carter’s criticism was not typical of all local authorities. There had to be a balance between local interests and what developers wanted.

He singled out a shortage of planners in the public sector as a cause of delay, blaming a reduction in their status over recent years.

"Part of my challenge will be to champion the cause of planners and the planning process," he said.

"Chief planning officers were once the big beasts of the local government jungle. Now they don’t exist."

He wants planners to be seen as promoters, not regulators, of development.

"I would hope we can make the process simple, effective and efficient. Planning has got a real contribution to make to the economic prosperity of the county and being a planning officer or serving on a planning committee is a real privilege."

Mr Hudson has spent most of his career in planning, working for Kent County Council, the former Rochester-upon-Medway City Council, Locate in Kent and, since 1999, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

As SEEDA’s development and infrastructure director, he has steered the complex Chatham Maritime project. He has also been closely involved in the Thames Gateway and Ashford growth areas.