LETTER: Will developers be accountable?

A recently published report by Civitas: '˜Planning approvals vs Housebuilding activity, 2006-2015' has found that of the 2,035,835 new homes granted permission by local authorities over the period only 1,261,350 have been started.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Sep 2016, 13:00 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 20:54 BST

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

Your lettersYour letters
Your letters

The report concludes that this huge shortfall has accumulated because house-builders and developers are hoarding permissions in order to push up house prices and profits and that “the key to building many more homes does not lie in increasing the number of permissions which are granted each year – but in ensuring that those permissions which are granted are built out much more quickly”.

House-builders will adjust and if necessary reduce build rates in order to maintain profitably, as they did during the recent recession and related financial crisis. They are under no regulatory obligation either to meet Inspector Salter’s arbitrary and imposed interim target of 800 houses pa or keep to the Council’s forward five year-supply trajectory.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Yet in spite of this reality, because of the present planning regime it would be Horsham District Council, not house-builders who would be blamed and held to account by the Government and the Planning Inspectorate, should house-builders choose to reduce build rates in order to maintain profit margins - and the District’s five year requirement not be met in consequence.

In which eventuality, the HDPF would be deemed to be out of date thereby enabling developers to disregard emerging Neighbourhood Plans and gain at Appeal yet more permissions for unallocated greenfield sites.

According to news media, MPs have promised a parliamentary inquiry into whether developers should be forced to build on plots once planning permission has been granted. However, with a government seemingly enthralled to developers, is this likely?

Dr R F Smith

For CPRE Sussex (Horsham District), Bashurst Copse, Itchingfield

__

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be among the first to know what’s going on.

1 Make our website your homepage at www.wscountytimes.co.uk

2 Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/wscountytimes

3 Follow us on Twitter @wscountytimes

4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!

The County Times – always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.

Related topics:Horsham District CouncilNeighbourhood PlansGovernment