Council ‘staffing crisis' threatens Rayner's housing target, builders warn
Council staff shortages are causing 'serious' delays and putting Angela Rayner's housebuilding target in jeopardy, builders have warned.
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) said a 'staffing crisis' at local authorities had led to mounting delays that are holding up projects across the country.
As part of the housebuilding process, developers and local authorities must negotiate agreements on funding for public infrastructure such as schools, roads or affordable homes. However, the time it takes to strike these deals has surged and agreements are now taking well over a year on average to finalise, according to the HBF.
Builders have been waiting for an average of 515 days – nearly a year and a half – for these so-called Section 106 agreements to be finalised. That waiting time has increased by a fifth over the past two years.
Researchers found 35pc of all Section 106 agreements took longer than a year to complete. In one case, a developer was left waiting for seven years.
The Housing Secretary has pledged to build 1.5m homes by the end of the current parliament, although she has conceded in recent weeks that this was a 'stretching' target.
The Government has proposed recruiting 300 extra planning officers to tackle the issue. However, the HBF said that this would be nowhere near enough extra staff to address backlogs and delays. The organisation has identified a national shortage of 2,200 planning officers across England and Wales.
Neil Jefferson, the chief executive of the HBF, said ministers had taken 'welcomed steps' to address planning delays, but needed to take 'meaningful action' by increasing funding for councils.
He said: 'Meeting the Government's ambitious housing targets will require ministers to remove the barriers that are currently causing housing supply to flatline.
'The Government needs to ensure that local authorities have the capacity to process planning applications within a reasonable timeframe such that construction can get under way.
'If ministers can speed up the planning process, alongside providing mortgage support for first-time home buyers, and funding for housing associations to purchase affordable homes, house builders can start to actually increase supply.'
The HBF warned that delays were particularly costly for smaller developers that lack the financial reserves to absorb rising costs.
It came as affordable housebuilder MJ Gleeson issued a profit warning citing planning delays, rising costs and a weak housing market. Its stocks plummeted by more than 20pc on Tuesday.
Delays stem from its business in the North, where developments have been largely held up by biodiversity rules rather than infrastructure agreements. However, the situation underlines the planning hurdles that housebuilders face.
Council planning offices are under-staffed as local authorities come under intense financial pressure. Research by the Local Government Association (LGA) in March found that councils face a funding shortfall of more than £8bn by 2028-29 without enough additional income. A quarter of councils in England have warned that they will need emergency bailouts from the Government.
An LGA spokesman said: 'There is a significant ongoing and historic challenge with resourcing planning teams and retaining staff with necessary specific skills across the country, with nearly two thirds of councils relying on agency staff to address capacity and skills gaps.
'Planning is a vital part of ensuring safe, well designed and appropriate house building takes place, and despite the challenges faced by local planning departments, nine in 10 planning applications are approved.
'Councils want to work with the Government to better help recruit and retain the planners and built environment professionals required to support an efficient locally-led planning system in order to build the homes we need.'
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.
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