House builders will be forced to commit to delivery time frames to get planning permission under new government rules – and those who leave sites unfinished could lose their land to local authorities.
Developers will also have to submit annual progress reports to councils to show they’re on track, and any who get the all-clear to build and then don’t deliver may face fines too.
Large housing sites can take more than 10 years to build, but the government wants those with more affordable housing built twice as fast.
The tough new rules are designed to help the government with its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the general election of 2029, with Angela Rayner saying “it’s time for developers to roll up their sleeves”.
The deputy prime minister and housing secretary said the proposals would put an end to “sites with planning permission gathering dust for decades, while a generation struggle to get on the housing ladder”.
Sir Keir Starmer has regularly spoken of wanting to back the “builders” rather than the “blockers”, and has repeatedly railed against NIMBY culture that he believes has held the country back.
Labour have already unveiled sweeping reforms to the planning system, including allowing more applications to be signed off by dedicated officers rather than elected councillors.
Major developers will also only have to deal with one regulator when proposing new projects.
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The latest plans – which have been welcomed by the housing charity Shelter – will be detailed in a government document published on Sunday.
Shelter’s Alicia Walker said too many developers “drag their heels when building new homes to keep prices high and make bigger profits”.
But she also urged the government to ensure plenty more social housing is built.
The Tories said they supported measures to speed up house building, but claimed Labour were placing too many conditions upon developers.
