February 2016
This week, the Government announced that there will be a ‘shake up’ to the planning process, designed to incentivise councils to improve and speed up their planning services.
A consultation on the changes will run until Friday 15 April, and relates to the Housing and Planning Bill. It also includes details of how a new planning “permission in principle” approach will operate, and how councils will run brownfield land and small sites registers.
Story Homes’ Chief Executive Steve Errington welcomes the proposals. He said:
“Story Homes welcomes the government’s proposal to review the planning application process, which will inevitably help meet the requirement for new-build homes and enable more first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. The move will also allow the government to fulfil its pledge to provide 400,000 Starter Homes for first-time buyers – the absolute lifeblood of the property market.
“The UK is experiencing a massive shortfall in new housing supply and this is largely down to planning delays, which reduce the rate at which developers can build. What’s more, the current planning process demands huge amounts of resources, resulting in excessive costs for housebuilders, which could be avoided if a more stringent process was put in place.
“Planning delays not only hinder business operations, but are detrimental to recruitment for the industry as a whole. While demand for construction talent is on the rise, planning application restrictions can slow down the rate of employment for both office-based and on-site staff.”
More information about the Government proposals can be found on the Government website here.
