Planning applications could be approved automatically under new ‘snooze you lose’ plans

HOUSING officials will be told “if you snooze you lose” in a bid by Michael Gove to get Britain building.

In a major speech tomorrow the Housing Secretary will announce a consultation on forcing Whitehall pen pushers to speed up approval times for new developments.

Where officials fail to rule on time, applications will be automatically approved if all other planning hurdles are cleared.

Quangos including the Natural England and Historic England are legally obliged to take a maximum of 13 weeks to rule on relevant planning applications.

But The Sun can reveal some developers are waiting on average more than 12 months for a decision.

Mr Gove's proposal has been welcomed by developers, but with the caveat that it's "just a sweetener".

Housing industry representatives say that overall the government building policies are dismally failing the public.

Tomorrow Mr Gove will appease Tory NIMBY’s by confirming that local authorities don’t need to use central government designed formulas to assess their housing needs.

And as pledged, the compulsory housebuilding targets will be slashed.

Instead town hall chiefs will choose how many new homes are needed locally.

They will be forced to publish local housing plans and up-to-date data on how quickly decisions on applications are being made.

It comes as new data shows planning permission for new homes have fallen to a record low.

In the 12 months to the end of September, 2,778 developments across Britain were granted planning permission - two per cent fewer than the number approved in the 12 months to the end of June and 20 per cent fewer than in the same period last year. 

Developers have warned that supplies of new housing next year could drop below 200,000, the lowest figure in a decade.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman at the Home Builders Federation said: “This is the inevitable outcome of several years of anti-growth policy and rhetoric.

“Businesses have warned for some time that the impact of Government action would be severe but now there is now a mounting body of evidence. 

“If ministers continue with the proposals to rid the planning system of targets and consequences, no matter how it is packaged, it will result in fewer new homes and represents another victory for NIMBY backbenchers.”

The government in its 2019 election manifesto set a target of building 300,000 homes every year by the middle of the mid-2020s.

But Rishi Sunak ditched central housing targets saying it would give councils more flexibility.

Meanwhile, last month the PM appointed Lee Rowley as the government's 16th Housing Minister since 2010.