It's not red tape causing housing crisis but 1.4m unbuilt homes with planning permission, report finds

In Yorkshire and the Humber, between 2020-21 and 2023-24, the latest data available, 46 per cent of all homes with planning permission never got built.

The vast majority of those were never even started.

IPPR says this is due to developers wanting to increase the land’s value before selling it on, as well as “land banking” to slow building rates and maintain high house prices.

The Labour Government has pledged to build 1.5m new homes by the end of the Parliament, with various announcements aimed at reducing planning regulations and red tape.

Sir Keir Starmer has described his motto as “build, baby, build”, and said it will entail “sweeping aside the blockers to get houses built”.

Dr Maya Singer Hobbs, senior research fellow at IPPR, explained: “The government doesn’t need to rip up the planning system to build 1.5 million new homes.

“Many of the blockers to housing and infrastructure delivery are not planning related.

“Reasons include water shortages, private developers slowing delivery to maintain profits, and a lack of strategic oversight of large infrastructure projects.

“Market driven house-building is broken, and won’t deliver the 1.5 million homes the government has promised.”

In particular, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has taken aim at wildlife protections which prevent houses being built.

Last month, she told developers they won’t need to worry about “bats and newts” going forward.

However, Dr Singer Hobbs said: “Years of deregulation and cuts to organisations like the Environment Agency means the planning system now operates as the last bastion of defence against bad design, nature degradation, pollution and over extraction of our waterways.

“We must support local, regional and national planners to do their job.

“This is not about pitting NIMBYs against YIMBYs, it is about ensuring the government achieves its ambitious targets whilst also maintaining local support and high quality.”

IPPR says the Government should instead explore new laws to force developers to build houses within a certain time frame of securing planning permission, or face sanctions.

It comes as the Prime Minister announced the Government’s New Homes Accelerator, which hopes to reignite stalled housing projects, has resurrected 20,000 abandoned homes.

As part of this, £30 million will go to Bradford to transform old brownfield sites into a vibrant residential area with 1,000 new homes and three community parks, as well as shops, cafés, restaurants and offices.

Cayton, near Scarborough, will also get money to revitalise abandoned homes.