A housing group has called on the Finance Secretary to back planning authorities in next month’s budget after new data showed long delays in approving schemes.
The average processing timeframe has improved but remains more than twice the statutory eight weeks at nearly five months, says trade group Homes for Scotland.
Director of planning Kevin Murphy said there has been a “worrying decrease” in the number of applications from firms building 49 or fewer homes, as the number of builders plunges to its lowest level.
“These performance statistics for local housing applications highlight the constrained operating environment our SME home builders are facing when trying to be bring forward the homes of all-tenures the country so desperately needs to tackle the housing emergency, particularly in rural communities where we know they are most active,” he said.
Cabinet Secretary Mairi McAllan has committed to a 10% year on year increase in all-tenure housing completions over the next three years, he said.
“We now need to see pace and urgency taken to alleviate the regulatory blockers that exist within our planning system.
“With the Scottish Budget approaching in January, the sector needs to see clear financial backing for local planning authorities to increase resource and capacity, as well as ensuring the local and national planning digitisation budgets are increased to invest in digital solutions to help increase productivity.”
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