Nearly 100,000 homes sped up by drive to cut red tape, ministers claim

Nearly 100,000 homes have been sped up by an initiative to cut red tape, according to the Government.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the New Homes Accelerator was “breaking down the barriers” stopping new homes from being built, and would “turn the tide on the housing crisis”.

The accelerator scheme, set up last year, has helped local councils with capacity problems in their planning systems, and has also removed regulatory hurdles from some schemes.

It has so far led to 36,000 new homes being sped up across England, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

A further 63,000 homes are also being driven forward by the initiative, the department said.

Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, said: “We’ve rolled up our sleeves and are breaking down the barriers which stop us from building the houses to buy and rent that families and young people need, helping to speed up the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes already.

“We are continuing to take decisive action through our New Homes Accelerator to speed up the delivery of homes, meet our stretching 1.5 million homes target through the plan for change, and get spades in the ground to turn the tide on the housing crisis.”

Areas where new homes have been sped up by the scheme include the North West, London, Somerset and the South East.

The initiative is one of the steps ministers are taking as they aim to build 1.5 million homes by the end of the Parliament.

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly said the Government “know they can’t deliver their housing numbers”.

He added: “Angela Rayner threatened to resign rather than be held to their 1.5 million homes ‘promise’.

“Their extra taxes and red tape are drowning businesses and making house building harder.”