16 COMMENT
councils and only 44 per cent of authorities currently have up-to-date Local Plans (less than five years old) setting out how they can meet the need for new homes in their areas for the next five years. This is almost certainly a direct consequence of failing to recruit enough new staff and not replacing experienced planners who have retired or left their jobs as a result of burn out. Planning has been a Cinderella service
for too long and we are feeling the direct effects of this now. Many councils face a worrying shortage of planners and this is not a tap we can simply turn back on and expect immediate results. Overall there was a 15 per cent drop in the number of local authority planners employed between 2006 and 2016. Anecdotal evidence from discus- sions with council officers and developers suggests the decline has continued in the past two years.
The NAO report used research from Lichfields, a planning and development consultancy, who found that in 2020 about 50 per cent of local authorities are likely to fail the test for building enough homes and could face penalties, including giving developers in those areas greater freedoms regarding where they can build. As of November 2018, the Housing Secretary James Brokenshire had only challenged 15 councils over their lack of an up-to-date plan. A mix of firmer and more supportive intervention is required from Whitehall, including housebuilders also being pushed to help more.
Government figures show the average contributions agreed with developers for public infrastructure projects such as schools, health centres, roads and social housing remained steady at about £19,000 per new home between 2012 and 2017. During the same period, average house prices increased by 31 per cent and the average operating profit margin of the biggest five developers rose from about 12 to 21 per cent. Some redistribution of
resources from developers to councils looks well overdue.
PREVENTING A FREE FOR ALL Responding to the NAO report, Councillor Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s Housing spokesman, said: “Council planning departments are doing an incredible job with extremely limited resources, approving nine out of 10 appli- cations, with the majority processed quickly.” His claim is borne out by performance indicators showing that councils are processing the majority of major residential planning applications within prescribed time limits. Councillor Tett claims councils are
committed to ensuring homes are built where they are needed, are affordable, of a high-quality and supported by adequate infrastructure and services. He emphasised the importance of councils having an oversight of local developments, ensuring accountability and scrutiny. He also wants the resources required to deliver more housing. “We remain clear that the Government’s housing needs formula does not take into account the complexity and unique needs of local housing markets, which vary signifi- cantly from place to place, and imposes unfair and undeliverable targets on commu- nities. This risks leading to a housebuilding ‘free-for-all’, which will bypass the needs of local communities and could damage public trust in the planning system. “With hundreds of thousands of homes
in England with planning permission but yet to be built, councils need powers to make sure developers build out approved homes in a timely fashion.” He urged the Government to use this year’s Spending Review to properly fund planning departments and allow councils to set planning fees locally so they can recover the true cost of processing planning applications.
DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES The NAO reported only 47 per cent of councils have so far implemented a community infrastructure levy, which can be used to raise money from developers. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the NAO that town halls may not have the commercial and negotiating skills needed to deal with developers’ arguments on viability and that some were unable to negotiate effectively. If a local authority does not show it has a
five-year supply of land for housing, it gives developers greater freedoms to build where they want, and a local authority has less control over the location of develop- ment. This limited local authority control risks ill-suited developments being built. Clearly it is a gap that needs urgent plugging, although short-staffed planning teams are doing their best to deliver their core functions. Kit Malthouse, the current Housing
Minister, said he recognised the challenges identified by the NAO and that govern- ments of all political colours had built too few homes in the previous 30 years. He said this government was looking more thoroughly at how the problem could be solved. This is not an issue we can afford to put
on the back burner. As recently as 2017 the Local Government Association warned the Government that because of relatively low building rates, the average new home being built in England would have to last 2,000 years. That cannot be allowed to continue, and
we need central and local government to do all in their power to provide the homes that the country needs, of the right type and in the right places. Shelter’s Housing Commission provided a decent blueprint for delivering this, but it needs courage and conviction from our politicians for them to deliver this.
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