Housing developer Persimmon said the General Election is causing disruption to the planning process…
British housebuilder firm Persimmon said it has been difficult to win planning permission for new developments in the run up to the election.
The General Election, which will take place on 7 May, is set to be one of the closest races for Number 10 in recent history. There is significant uncertainty surrounding which party will get into power and who will make up a coalition government if there is no majority winner.
However, despite the difficulties gaining planning permission, Persimmon said house buyers remain confident, which reflected an ongoing improvement in the economy and good deals in the mortgage market.
In a trading update, the firm said: “As anticipated, in line with past experience it has become increasingly difficult to secure planning consents for sites as May’s General Election approaches.
“While we would expect such delays to be short term in nature, they are hindering the expansion in the number of active outlets required by the housebuilding industry to support an increase in the volume of newly built homes delivered to the market.”
Persimmon experienced strong sales in the first 15 weeks of the year. This resulted in a seven per cent increase in the total forward sales revenue to £2bn.
What a load of rubbish!
Every single political party has criticised all the volume house builders for building too few properties. So this one comes out with a distraction tactic and blames politicians instead! How totally ridiculous.
Its not so much the national issue but at a local level. Councillors are unwilling to upset the local electorate by granting consent to applications where there is significant objections. Lets face it, that means most applications for major housing proposals!
Additionally, in our experience as consultants, many planning officers are unwilling to advance such applications to the Planning Committee in case they are seen as political manoeuvre during the election period.