Building groups and local councils are already in dispute over who is at fault for a perceived lack of homes being built, as a consultation on reforming the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was unveiled by the Prime Minister yesterday.

Theresa May announced a consultation on proposals first touted in the Housing White Paper last year, including a rule allowing councils to revoke planning permission after two years if building hasn’t started in an attempt to tackle land banking.

There are also new housing delivery targets, to be set in November 2018, that local authorities must meet.

Local authorities will have to come up with action plans or could have planning consent automatically presumed in the most extreme cases.

But Gary Porter, chairman of the Local Government Association, suggested planning wasn’t the issue and that the Treasury was instead at fault for not funding enough council development.

He said: “If we want more houses, we have to build them, not plan them.

“Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) need to push back against HMT or the nonsense will go on and nothing will change.”

But the Home Builders Association tweeted back to him, suggesting councils were at fault for focusing too much on larger developments.

A tweet from the trade body said: “Councils are still not enabling the entire market to build as #localplans are still focusing on large developments to meet need. “

If we want more houses, we have to build them, not plan them. If we want cheaper homes, we have to build them, not plan them. MHCLG need to push back agains HMT or the nonsense will go on and nothing will change. Less homes built next year than there were this year.

— Gary Porter (@garyporterlga) March 4, 2018

Simon Dudley, director at housing agency Homes England, also responded to Porter to say local councils didn’t have sufficient housing plans in place.

You don’t need a local plan to build ( we have NPPF) you need a plan if you want to stop building https://t.co/a0oi53xkrI

— Gary Porter (@garyporterlga) March 5, 2018

Commenting on the proposals, Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “Clearly we need more houses and we welcome these announcements from the Government; however given the nature of house building we need to recognise that it will inevitably be a slow process before people feel that they have more homes available to them.

“Our monthly housing market report showed demand for housing boomed in January, creating competition among buyers and causing the number of sales to first-time buyers to drop. It looks like those trying to get their first foot on the property ladder are in for tough year.”

The consultation closes on May 10.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-revised-national-planning-policy-frameworka