{"id":166946,"date":"2026-10-23T13:36:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=166946"},"modified":"2026-10-23T13:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:36:26","slug":"half-lpas-fail-discharge-planning-conditions-time-says-hbf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/building-control-news\/half-lpas-fail-discharge-planning-conditions-time-says-hbf\/166946\/","title":{"rendered":"Half of LPAs fail to discharge planning conditions in time, says HBF"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although permission may be granted, many developers still face delays as approvals are not being granted for conditions<\/h2>\n

Just 50.8% of planning condition<\/a> applications have been determined within the statutory eight-week timeframe, and it is only getting worse says the Home Builders Federation (HBF).<\/p>\n

Local planning authorities (LPAs) that fail to discharge planning conditions are often causing delays to housing delivery as a result.<\/p>\n

Lack of monitoring makes issues harder to solve<\/h3>\n

The research, conducted by the HBF with Paragon Bank Development Finance, has also found that there is a consistent lack in monitoring planning performance, making bottlenecks and ability to hold LPAs to account much more difficult.<\/p>\n

Planning conditions are the requirements set by LPAs to grant planning permission, and must be met by developers at different stages of development, as well as be approved via submitting information at stages before work can continue.<\/p>\n

Since pre-commencement conditions must be cleared to start work on-site, developments often find themselves delayed despite planning permission being given already.<\/p>\n

The statutory timeframe of eight weeks, or 56 days, has been failed to be adhered to by nearly half of LPAs. With approval times varying by a wide margin, meaning developers are met with even more uncertainty in their projects.<\/p>\n

The HBF research found that, in a three-year period:<\/p>\n