Tracking Progress: Monitoring the build-out of housing planning permissions in five local planning authority areas
The myth that housing developers are hoarding land after gaining planning consent in order to benefit from a rising market has been debunked again in new research by leading planning consultancy Lichfields. The report ‘Tracking Progress’ supports the conclusions reached by other independent reviews, by amongst other Sir Oliver Letwin and the OFT; and outlines the flaws in the oft referenced report put out by the Local Government Association every year.
Lichfields was commissioned by the Land Promoters and Developers Federation (LPDF) and the Home Builders Federation (HBF) to undertake research into how the pipeline of sites for housing development compares with what might be needed to meet the government’s ambitions for 300,000 net additional homes per annum across England.
Lichfields calculate that, based on the case studies in the report that when looking at the number of units granted any type of permission (both full and outline) in a given year, after five years one might expect roughly:
- 3% to 5% of homes granted permission will lapse or stall;
- 10% to 15% of homes granted permission will be superseded at a later date by a fresh permission (and not necessarily harming the pace of delivery);
- 35% to 50% of homes granted permission will have been delivered;
- 35% to 50% of homes granted permission will remain extant but on sites delivering on a phased basis beyond five years.
