House builders will be stripped of planning permission if site development does not commence within 18 months after planning is ‘green-lit’, under new government proposals. With England desperate for new houses, and close to a million plots across the country remaining unfinished, MPs argue that proposals put forward by the housing, communities and local government committee could speed up the rate of build and resolve England’s desperate shortage of homes.

‘The Government should set a limit of 18 months following discharge of planning conditions for work to commence on site’, stated the Committee in a recently released report, adding: ‘If work has not progressed to the satisfaction of the local planning authority, then the planning permission may be revoked’.

With industry leading professionals agreeing that speeding up build rates will help the government achieve its house building targets of 300,000 new homes a year, others claim the committee’s recent proposals unfairly penalise developers with unnecessary bureaucracy, while avoiding the principal factors contributing to the 74,000 new build shortfall between 2019-20.

Simon Das at 978 Finance, said: “These proposals are simply a kick in the teeth for our house building clients. Instead of putting the onus on developers, the government should concentrate on reforming the antiquated and protracted planning process.”