A lack of resources within planning departments is one of the biggest reasons for the chronic housing shortages in this country, according to Linea Homes.

The niche housebuilder reports that the vast majority of planning applications are being delayed by six months or more owing to what it claims is a shortage of staff and inefficient processes within local planning departments.

It is estimated that around 250,000 new homes need to be built in the UK annually to help address the growing supply-demand imbalance in the market, but housebuilders will continue to fail to meet that target year-on-year owing to severe delays with planning applications that could be avoided, Gavin Sherman, Co-Owner of Linea Homes, has said.

He commented, “We are not alone in experiencing severe delays with our planning applications that are complete with professional reports and are policy compliant. Local authorities are so under resourced that they simply can’t acknowledge and administer the number of applications they are receiving. Some officers only work two days a week, which makes it impossible for them to deal with the workload they are given.”

A recent report compiled by the British Property Federation and GL Hearn, a property consultancy, supported Sherman’s claims. It revealed many of England’s biggest cities are taking an average of 32 weeks to approve planning applications, despite the Government setting a target of 13 weeks.

Sherman insists that the lack of housing in this country is a major issue that will continue to escalate unless the Government provides more funding for qualified personnel and IT in planning departments “so that applications are processed more efficiently and we as an industry can keep on building quality”.

Sherman is not the only one calling for greater Government action to resolve the growing housing crisis.

Last month, speaking on behalf of housebuilders, Stewart Baseley (left) of the Home Builders Federation (HBF), commented, “Housebuilders are committed to delivering high quality, low-cost homes for a new generation of first-time buyers, if the policy environment allows them to.” He asserted that “greater flexibility” was needed to help speed up the process of securing an implementable planning permission but also make more sites viable for new housing.

“This will in turn increase availability of homes of all types and help address the chronic shortage that has been allowed to develop,” he added.

Fresh Government data showing that the number of new homes in England rose by 25 per cent in 2014-15 – the biggest rise in 28 years – is a step in the right direction, according to Brian Murphy (right), Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, but he believes that it by no means that the market is “out of the danger zone just yet”.

He commented, “The number of housing completions is still far below the amount needed – net supply of dwellings remains 24 per cent below the levels seen in 2007-08 – and we are seeing too many homebuyers chasing a single property.

“Across the UK there is an ever-growing gap between supply and demand, threatening to drive up house prices and derail affordability. The Government must act on its promise to increase housing supply, not only through additional policies like the Starter Homes Scheme, but also by ensuring net supply of housing continues to grow at a strong rate.”