A third of homes granted planning permission between 2010 and 2015 – some 320,000 in total – have not been built, analysis by Shelter reveals.
The figure incorporates a one-year time lag between approval and completion, without which the numbers would have been higher. Some 68% of homes with planning permission have been completed, it said.
Delays in the planning system can mean it takes years for permissions to process to the point where construction can start, especially on very large sites, David O’Leary, policy director at the Home Builders Federation, said.
