If the Government is really serious about housing delivery, it is clear that something must be done about the performance of Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in respect of all planning matters, not just discharge of planning conditions.
And to be clear, this is in no way a criticism of the current LPA planning teams who I am sure are working tirelessly, but rather a statement of the clear and obvious that they must be massively under resourced.
When I speak with developers, the one common theme I hear time and time again is absolute frustration with the planning system, and with political commentators painting developers as the route cause of lack of delivery, which is clearly not the case.
This article highlights the stark reality: that the planning system in this country is not working and is in need of radical reform. If even a fraction of the kind of numbers of new houses routinely talked about by politicians of all parties are to be delivered, something must be done.
Clarke Willmott has a specialist team of planning lawyers as part of its core Housebuilder sector and can advise on a range of development and planning related matters from site acquisition, through to planning and delivery.
Please get in touch if we can assist in any way to support your business.
Only half of planning condition applications are being determined within the statutory eight-week timeframe, according to new research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Paragon Bank Development Finance. HBF is urging government to establish a national framework for tracking and reporting the performance of local planning authorities (LPAs) in discharging conditions
https://www.house-builder.co.uk/newsletter/view/4102?pk_campaign=newsletter_4102