Thousands of people trying to build their own homes have been thwarted by councils failing to help find them land.
Under the government’s 2016 Help to Build policy anyone who wishes to self-build can put their name on a local register. The council then has to grant planning permission to enough plots to meet the demand within three years.
That deadline passed in October, but an analysis of 327 councils shows that just 8,500 names have been taken off registers, leaving 46,500 in limbo.
Councils have been accused of “restarting the clock” on many applications, while others have simply ignored the policy.
