Developers failed to build a THIRD of homes they were given permission for in past five years
Despite the ongoing housing crisis, research has revealed more than 320,000 new flats and houses given the green light since 2012 have not appeared
FAT cat developers have failed to build one in three of all new homes they have been given permission for in the last five years.
Shock new research has revealed more than 320,000 new flats and houses given the green light since 2012 have not appeared.
The lengthy delays are blamed for deepening Britain’s already chronic housing crisis.
But over the same time period, profits made by the country’s top five housebuilders have soared by 388% to a jumbo total of £3.3bn.
The revelations from homeless charity Shelter will fuel the outcry over suspected ‘landbanking’.
Under the shameful practice, developers delay building work to keep demand high and inflate house prices to and maximise their profits.
The findings come as Communities Secretary Sajid Javid prepares to unveil strict new rules to force NIMBY local councils to build more homes in desirable areas.
Mr Javid told The Sun: “We don’t build enough homes in this country, and we don’t build them quickly enough.
“That’s why I set out a number of measures to increase and speed up house building in our White Paper.
“This includes a new responsibility for councils to get homes built on time, and the tools they need to make this happen.”
Slamming the developers last night, Shelter insisted soaring prices have left “working families bearing the brunt”.
The charity’s head of policy Anne Baxendale said: “While people across the country struggle with eye-wateringly high housing costs, developers’ profits are soaring into the billions.
“Time and again we hear the ‘red tape’ of the planning system being blamed but the real problem is a system where developers make more profit sitting on land than they would by building homes.”
Across in England, the average completion rate on permissions in the last five years is just 68 per cent. But in some regions, it is even worse.
London - the most crowded area in the country – comes bottom of the table, with a completion rate of just 52 per cent.
A total of 106,968 plots cleared for development have still not been built on in the capital.
The top five earning developers last year were Barratt Developments PLC, Taylor Wimpey PLC, Persimmon PLC, Berkeley Group Holdings PLC, and Bellway PLC.
MOST READ IN POLITICS
The Home Builders Federation last night insisted much of the land is not yet ready to be built on, as it needs infrastructure such as access roads first.
David O’Leary, policy director at the HBF, said: “Delays in the planning system mean permissions can take years to process to the point where construction can start, especially on very large sites with complex infrastructure requirements”.
Under a major shake-up of planning rules unveiled in February to enforce more house building, councils are to get bolstered powers to crack down on developers.
Councils will be able to slap orders on firms to finish plots within two years, or lose their planning permission.
Land can be seized from them with compulsory purchasing orders if they fail to build on it in time.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England insisted the major failing is the wrong type of housing is being built with too many luxury developments being prioritised.
The CPRE’s Matt Thomson said: “We do need to build more houses, but will building even more executive homes in areas of high demand address the crisis in housing for young people and families?
“Instead, we need to support genuinely affordable homes within towns and cities, and on small sites in villages. Otherwise things will just get worse.”