There has never been a better opportunity for good design

Dr Richard Simmons, CABE chief executive, reflects on the impacts of CABE's housing audit programme.

Housing minister Yvette Cooper has called for a revolution in housing design. The housing industry has said it is up for the challenge. I believe there has never been a better opportunity to achieve it. The policy framework is largely in place. Planners and developers alike increasingly recognise the value of good design. And nothing else will achieve the government's target for all new homes to be zero carbon within 10 years.

But CABE's housing audits - with the latest edition published today completing the English national picture - show that the revolution can't come soon enough. The housing produced in the first few years of this new century is simply not up to standard. Our research indicates that some things are improving. But it is too little and too slow, given the scale and the pace of the building programme. The gap between aspiration and delivery needs to close as a matter of urgency.

This challenge is one of CABE's core priorities. We are already heavily engaged, working with both public and private sector partners to address the problems. CABE is now offering expert, practical advice to every team in the housing growth and market renewal areas. We are engaging closely with the major volume housebuilders. Every planner in the country now has access to design guidance from CABE. And we are using our design review service to drive up the quality of the most significant housing developments nationwide. We're also very keen to hear about people's experiences of new housing - so if you've just moved into a new home, let us know what you think of it.

Now is the time to look holistically at planning and design practice and build new homes that are not just technically capable of reducing energy use but also a part of beautiful and practical places to live. The kind of development that we have found in our audit is not good enough. House builders may have to change many fundamental aspects of their standard product as well as the layout and accessibility of new neighbourhoods to achieve zero carbon standards. But I believe there is every reason to hope that when we revisit this research in the next few years, we will find a much more encouraging picture.

Dr Richard Simmons is the Chief executive of CABE