More than 423,000
homes have been given planning permission but are still waiting to be built,
according to new research published by the Local Government Association.
The study,
commissioned by the LGA and carried out by industry experts Glenigan, shows the
backlog has grown by almost 16 per cent in the last year.
In 2015/16, the
total number of unimplemented planning permissions in England and Wales was
365,146, rising to 423,544 in 2016/17.
The figures also
show that developers are taking longer to build new homes. It now takes 40
months, on average, from schemes receiving planning permission to building work
being completed – eight months longer than in 2013/14.
The planning system
is not a barrier to building. Councils are approving nine in every 10 planning
applications, and granted planning permission in 2016/17 for 321,202 new homes
- up from 204,989 new homes in 2015/16.
The LGA, which
represents 370 councils in England and Wales, says the new analysis underlines
the need for councils to be given greater powers to take action on unbuilt land
which has planning permission.
It says councils
need powers to act on uncompleted schemes, including making it easier to
compulsory purchase land where homes remain unbuilt, and to be able to charge
developers full council tax for every unbuilt development from the point that
the original planning permission expires.
The Government
should also accept the calls of the LGA and Treasury Select Committee and scrap
the cap on council borrowing so that councils can quickly build additional new
homes that are affordable.
Cllr Martin Tett,
LGA Housing spokesman, said: “These figures prove that the planning system is
not a barrier to house building. In fact the opposite is true. In the last
year, councils and their communities granted twice as many planning permissions
as the number of new homes that were completed.
“No-one can live in
a planning permission. Councils need greater powers to act where housebuilding
has stalled.
“To tackle the new
homes backlog and to get the country building again, councils also need the
freedom to borrow and invest in desperately-needed new homes, as recognised by
the influential Treasury Select Committee last month.
“Our national
housing shortage is one of the most pressing issues we face. While private
developers have a key role to play in solving our housing crisis, they cannot
meet the 300,000 housebuilding target set by the Government on their own.
“We have no chance
of housing supply meeting demand unless councils can get building again.”
