According to recent research, over 423,000 homes which have received planning permission are still waiting to be built
The analysis commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) and conducted by construction experts Glenigan has revealed that the backlog of developments has increased by almost 16% in the last year.
In 2015/16, there were 365,146 unimplemented planning permissions in England and Wales.
This increased to 423,544 in 2016/17.
The study revealed that developers were taking longer to build new homes, with the average scheme now taking 40 months from receiving planning permission to completion – eight months longer than in 2013/14.
The analysis also found that councils were approving nine out of 10 planning applications, with permission granted for 321,202 new homes in 2016/17, up from 204,989 in 2015/16.
Councillor Martin Tett, spokesman at LGA Housing, said that the figures proved that the planning system was not a barrier to housebuilding.
“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.”
Tett added: “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.”
