A PLANNING expert says Brexit cannot be used as an excuse to water down housing quality in Worcester.

Marc Dorfman, an interim corporate director at Worcester City Council, has urged politicians to be on their guard over developers looking to take shortcuts on new residential schemes.

The outcome of the EU referendum has left the building industry in a state of concern over their future.

Many of them rely on imports of materials, with some analysts saying at times of uncertainty many seek to save as much money as possible on new developments.

Mr Dorfman, who is looking after economic regeneration in the city, says the planning committee will have a key role to play in the coming years in keeping standards high.

"The most important thing is to reach out to developers, because the quality that needs to be delivered in housing is paramount," he said.

"The message 'open for business' is important, but open for business with quality.

"Everyone is unsure about what type of Brexit we will have, what type of growth funds there will be, and while all of that is in a mess, concentrating on delivering real quality in the city is so important.

"Looking down the line, the important thing is that we don't react too quickly to it, and that we focus on keeping that quality."

Speaking during a meeting of the planning committee, he also admitted he could quite easily be "very worried" about the implications on things like affordable housing, where profits for developers are much lower.

He also told them it was even less likely the country would get near its stated need of building 500,000 homes a year - something it has never been able to do.

"I would be worried about that as what's been said about affordable housing is very real.

"It's important we get the right mix of housing, most people are worried about the general ability to provide that," he said.

"If you don't get that right you don't get people with a wide range of incomes housed.

"It's so important because as a country we will never build 500,000 homes a year, we didn't do that even after the Second World War."