Half of the councils most impacted by austerity have not built any affordable homes using contributions from private developers since 2010, a think-tank has revealed.
The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) found that just 44 affordable homes were built with developer contributions across the 10 local authority areas hit hardest by real-terms funding cuts since 2010.
Five of the 10 councils – Bolsover, Burnley, Thanet, Hastings and Pendle – did not build any affordable homes supported by developer contributions in that time.
The CLES argued that councils needed sufficient funding to give planning teams the capacity to get the best outcomes in terms of affordability, net zero and local economic benefits for their communities.
CLES chief executive Sarah Longlands said: ‘Planners are not the enemy of growth: they know and understand their local economic context and can ensure that growth delivers effectively for our communities, but to do that we must give them the respect and support that they deserve.’
