Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner tells housebuilders to ‘get on and build’ as the Government introduces delivery timeframes for developers.

The Government’s new proposal to speed up housebuilding projects aims to address the housing crisis ‘by incentivising a model that works for developers and communities.’

According to the new rules, housebuilders must develop homes on ‘consented sites’ after securing planning permission, whilst providing the council with annual progress reports to prove their efforts in committing to delivery timeframes.

The Government has also implemented a ‘Delayed Homes Penalty’ to ensure those who repeatedly fail to meet delivery demands are unable to secure future building permissions from local authorities.

To support councils in the delivery of new homes, the new housebuilding rules will see that the money amounting from unbuilt homes is paid back to local planning authorities.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner said: ‘This Government has taken radical steps to overhaul the planning system to get Britain building again after years of inaction. In the name of delivering security for working people, we are backing the builders not the blockers. Now it’s time for developers to roll up their sleeves and play their part.’

‘Through our Plan for Change, we will deliver 1.5 million homes, fix the housing crisis and make the dream of home ownership a reality for working people’, she added.

Cllr Adam Hug, Housing spokesperson for the LGA, commented: ‘Local government shares ambitions to boost housebuilding and work hard with communities and developers to deliver new sites. Too often they are frustrated when developers do not build the homes they have approved. While intervention of this sort is a last resort, this move is crucial to help ensure meaningful build out of sites.’