GLA member calls for planning permissions to be shorter to incentivise developers to build new homes faster

It is a point where there might be some political consensus as Aileen Evans, chief executive of Grand Union Housing Group, made a similar point at the Labour Party Conference last week.

Prior to Labour’s annual gathering, a Liberal Democrat councillor called for a transition phase for councils to build up to the mandatory housing targets the Labour government is proposing as part of its planning reform.

Liz Townsend, portfolio holder for planning and economic development at Waverley Borough Council, said that over the past couple of years, the council has delivered “good numbers” of housing, but there has been a “struggle” to meet its targets. 

“And it’s not that we haven’t delivered enough planning permissions. Planning permissions are built out extremely slowly. We’ve even given permission for a new garden village, and that’s been excruciatingly slow. 

“And so we need to address this issue. We need to find out how we can unlock the existing permissions that we have, which for us is about 6,000,” Ms Townsend said.

Back at the Conservative conference in Birmingham on Monday, David Simmonds, under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, stressed that reintroducing the target for new homes does not mean they are going to be delivered.

He said: “Should we start seeing council tax charged either once the consent is granted or fairly shortly afterwards? So the developer needs to use it or lose it, but one way or another, we need to make sure that that happens.

“I think this can play a real role in opposition in challenging the government around infrastructure. It’s very, very clear one of the things that particularly frustrates people is how hopeless the NHS is at delivering infrastructure that is funded through things like Section 106 contributions. 

“And I know my own local authorities are holding millions of pounds that developers have paid, but where the NHS, sometimes for more than a decade, has been unable to make a decision in order to proceed with a new facility that’s needed and expected by local residents.”

One delegate pointed out that it was a bit “naughty to get political” on this issue given the Conservatives’ record on housing in government.

However, Mr Boff pointed out that having what he described as a “political target” does not mean the needs of individual boroughs are being met across London.

He added: “The problem we’ve got in London is that the homes that are being built don’t have local consent, even though local people want homes built, but what they don’t want is a 20-storey to a 30-storey tower block built, when what is needed is actually small, family-sized homes that they need. We need to engage people at the very earliest stages of development.”

Most of the panel agreed that councils that want to get back into delivery should be given the powers and funding to do so.

James Howell, director of partnerships at L&Q, pointed out that while Labour had made some of the right noises around planning and reform, ultimately the sector was going to have to see a lot more in terms of the rent settlement and funding at this month’s fiscal event.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning to introduce a 10-year rent settlement for social landlords in the next Budget on 30 October.