Council planning departments should be given a time limit to sign off planning permissions in a bid to speed up the delivery of new housing, according to a new survey of developers.
The 2016 house building report from Knight Frank shows that while more than half of businesses plan to increase starts and completions over the next 12 months, challenges within the planning system are having a negative impact on supply.
Three-quarters of those surveyed said additional resources are needed in local authority planning departments, with 30% calling for the planning process for public sector land to be streamlined.
Despite a pledge by Government to unlock around 600 acres of public sector land last year, only a quarter of respondents said they had seen a rise in the availability of land owned by local government for sale over the last 12 months.
The report states: ‘Accessing public sector land remains a challenge for house builders, despite a large-scale effort from policymakers to release such unused land. Earlier this year, the Government announced another tranche of public land sales, some 600 acres. However, there still seems to be a blockage in the system, hampering the swift movement from the identification of a potential site for sale to development.
‘This can often happen in and around the disposal, especially when the owner may want to retain an interest in the site.’
The survey also revealed that only one in ten house builders though the Government was likely to meet its Starter Homes target under current market conditions, with 46% saying the initiative would make no difference to the number of affordable housing units across the country.
A DCLG spokesman said: 'Our planning reforms our working, with latest figures showing that more than 80% of major applications were signed off on time by local authorities - the highest figure on record.
However, we’re not complacent and our plans to fast-track applications will not only speed up the planning process but allow departments to use their resources more effectively.'
