One of the most influential designers in the UK says housebuilders risk creating the �slums of the future� in the rush to provide large-scale developments to keep up with demand.

One of the most influential designers in the UK says housebuilders risk creating the "slums of the future" in the rush to provide large-scale developments to keep up with demand.

Wayne Hemingway said that quality was suffering as developers concentrate on "high density" projects, some of which he fears may simply need to be pulled down again in the future.

Addressing an audience at The Future Scotland Debate on housing at The Lighthouse in Glasgow, he said that problems with the planning system mean that one developer has control over an entire site and this lack of competition is undermining quality.

While in the UK one housing developer can "dominate the housing offered in a town for years", in Scandinavian countries five different developers compete against each other with new builds on the same land. This forces developers to continue to strive for quality, he said.

"We cannot hope to get to the level that our European neighbours have reached because the delivery system they use is correct and ours is totally and utterly wrong," he said.

"We are going to need more houses. But in the rush for numbers the government planning system has been hoodwinked into high density, into buy-to-let as something that makes you money."

Hemingway, who coined the phrase "the Wimpeyfication of Britain", said that developers had become focused on "mono-cultural" developments of one or two-bedrooms that are designed for first-time buyers and not for "liveability".

He said: "We know we can design half decent houses. It is not hard to design a house. What is hard to design is to put in liveability.

"It is really simple things: having a place to go outside to kick a football, lie down in the sun, know that your kids are able to do what they want to do and you can hopefully not be too far away from them. It's access to good transport, simple stuff like having somewhere to go and eat nearby. A house you can live with and put down roots in."

Hemingway warned that housing developments built since the 1960s had helped "contribute to the crisis" facing society in the UK, with high levels of antisocial behaviour. He added: "All of these things are because we lock kids up in prisons."

Although there have been moves towards sustainable housing, some existing developments classed as "sustainable" would have to be knocked down, he said. He highlighted one development in Gateshead which he branded a "slum of the future".

"The cost of building it and knocking it down defeats all sustainability," he said.

Hemingway earlier told The Herald of the "disaster" at Leith Docks and what he described as mistakes at the Glasgow Harbour development on the River Clyde. After taking part in the debate at The Lighthouse, he visited the Crown Street regeneration area of New Gorbals to view other examples of new builds in the city.

He welcomed the mix of private and social housing and the different developers who have taken a role in the transformation of the area.

"It is miles better than it was. When you compare it to the reputation that it has had in the past, this is not what the brand of the Gorbals was about," he said. "That is what regeneration is about."

But walking round the streets, which have benefited from £170m investment, he pointed out problems of litter, with empty cans and food packets strewn across the road, and weeds growing on the pavements.

"If this development was in a European city it would feel more cared for in every respect," he said. "It is a step in the right direction but I wouldn't want anybody to sit on their laurels."

He said that the city should embrace the prospect of the Commonwealth Games in 2014 as an opportunity for a "housing expo" which would leave a "long-term legacy" for the city's residents.

But speaking at the debate earlier, he called for an overhaul of the planning system to help improve housing in the UK. He said: "We can make a difference if we change the way planning is dealt with.

"If you look at a development in Scandinavia they are often led by a town or city architect planner who is intelligent, well-educated, understands what people want and passionate about what they do. In the UK planning is a dirty word. We have got to make planning heroic."

The Future Scotland Debate on regeneration, sponsored by Riverside Inverclyde, is next Thursday at 6pm.