According to an Institute of Public Policy (IPPR) report, since 2007, 1.4 million homes have been granted planning permission but have not yet been built. This isn’t far off the UK Government’s target to build 1.5 million homes in England: does this just mean all we need to do is tell developers to get on with it?!
Housebuilders have hit back at the IPPR figure, saying other statistics show that the Government data underpinning the IPPR’s figure underestimates the number of homes being built, while overestimating the number of homes being granted planning permission.
The Competition and Markets Authority in 2024 found that land-banking – whereby housebuilders deliberately do not build homes quickly to maximise profits - does not happen at scale.
It is not disputed, however, that the time it can take to build out developments granted planning permission is too long. Last year, Lichfields* found that it takes years to build homes once planning permission is granted – and that this has been getting slower in recent years.
So why is this the case?
Building the homes we need
The Letwin Review in 2018 identified that the fundamental drivers of slow build out rates were “the homogeneity of the types and
Put simply - we are not building the variety of homes that people want and need.
Organisations such as Shelter have identified that solving the housing crisis requires the delivery of 90,000 social homes every year.
A focus on one headline housing target masks the need to ensure housebuilding in England delivers a range of types and tenures of homes. If developments delivered more affordable homes, building rates would likely increase.
Skills shortages
At the Wildlife Trusts we often point to the need to ensure ecological skills and expertise are embedded in the planning system: and lament the fact that many councils do not have access to ecological expertise, or an in-house ecologist.
The most cited skills and expertise gap in a survey of local councils undertaken by the UK Government was in biodiversity and ecology.
Housebuilders are also experiencing skills shortages. A recent report from the Housebuilders Federation stated that during the recession 40-50% of skilled labour left the housebuilding industry - and there is a shortfall in the number of new recruits entering the workforce.
From bricklayers to electricians and plumbers we need 240,000 more people to deliver 1.5 million high quality, energy-efficient and nature-friendly homes.
This skill shortage means that the gap between the number of homes being identified for development in local plans and being granted planning permission, and the number of homes being completed, is only going to grow.
Building homes for people and wildlife
As we’ve said before, Ministers are barking up the wrong tree when they blame slow housebuilding on bats and newts. As the Chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper, explains: “Out of the tens of thousands of planning applications that we are consulted on each year, 99% result in Natural England and developers finding ways for development to proceed while protecting Nature. A mere 1% result in an objection.”
Ensuring ecological data and expertise is sought and listened to early in the planning process will mean that any constraints – such as the potential presence of bats and newts – can be addressed early. The best times to undertake ecological surveys are well known, and should be planned in right from the start.
Protecting and enhancing wildlife habitats by ensuring development avoids key wildlife habitats can help avoid delays down the line.
So, what does this mean for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill?
There is no single solution to ensuring we address the housing crises and build the homes we need quickly.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, in unfairly pinning the slowness of the planning system on nature protections, throws the baby out with the bathwater. There is no need to undermine core environmental principles to speed up development and we are calling for the Government to bring forward several amendments to ensure key safeguards for nature are embedded in the proposals.
We are also pushing for the Government to improve protections for chalk streams, local wildlife sites and wildbelt – to protect land which is supporting nature’s recovery. Our report, Swift and Wild, identified several ways in which the Wildlife Trusts and others are ensuring new development supports efforts to address the nature and climate crises too.
Notes
*Analysis of Lichfield’s figures suggests it takes, on average 17 years to build out larger development sites (this uses the median build out rate of 104 dwellings per year for sites with 1500-1999 dwellings).