BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme has reported that the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that more than a million homes in England have been granted planning permission but have not been built

The LGA is calling on ministers to grant extra powers to stop what is known as “Land Banking” – a practice that sees developers delay construction until the value of the land goes up and they can charge more for the properties.

The Guardian reports that councils have used the analysis, which shows more than a million so-far unbuilt homes with planning permission, to hit back at possible Government moves to strip them of planning powers to speed up housebuilding.

The LGA said its analysis found 2,564,600 units had been given planning permission since 2009-10 but just 1,530,680 had been constructed. It said this showed councils were not the block to the Government’s target of creating 300,000 new homes a year.

Full article:

The Guardian - Councils say 1m homes given go-ahead but not yet built

The BBC -  (at 1:31:55)