LGA responds to HCLG Committee report on planning

Responding to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report The Future of the Planning System in England, Cllr David Renard, Local Government Association planning spokesperson, said:

“Councils want to work with government on developing the detail of its Planning Bill and to go further and faster to tackle our housing crisis.

“With more than 1.1 million homes given planning permission over the past decade yet to be built and councils approving 9 in 10 planning applications, it is clear that the planning system is not a barrier to housebuilding and that it is the housing delivery system which is in need of reform.

“There are also more than a million more homes on land earmarked in local plans for development by councils that are yet to be brought forward by developers for planning permission.

“It is therefore good the Committee backs our call for councils to be able to levy full council tax on incomplete properties, as an incentive to get developers building more quickly.

“A local, democratically-led planning system remains critical so local communities can continue to have their say on developments, ensure the right homes are built in the right places and shape the area they live in.”