A shortage of planning officers at England’s councils could derail efforts to tackle the housing crisis, a union is warning.
Unison said its research found councils are “way short” of staffing levels if they are to process enough planning applications.
Without sufficient planning officers, many families, first-time buyers and low-paid public sector workers will struggle to get much-needed homes because of planning approval delays, the union said.
The government has pledged to recruit hundreds of extra planning staff across English councils, and to use artificial intelligence to cut planning red tape, but Unison said local authorities will need almost three times as many extra workers.
The research will be among the issues discussed at the union’s annual local government conference in Liverpool today.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Councils must be able to recruit more planning staff if communities are to get the homes, schools and services they need.
“Local planning teams have been hollowed out by a decade and a half of cuts by successive Conservative governments, yet staff still handle around 350,000 planning applications each year.
“The Treasury’s pledge to recruit more planning workers is a boost, but won’t be enough to ease the pressure, clear backlogs or support the country’s future growth.
“If there’s any hope of hitting the 1.3 million housebuilding target, the central government must provide the extra resources to recruit and retain staff.
“Authorities need long-term, sustainable funding if communities are to get the homes they need and the economy is to thrive.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Despite inheriting the worst housing crisis in living memory, the Government is taking decisive action to speed up planning and build 1.5 million homes through our Plan for Change.
“The recruitment of 300 additional planners is just one part of this, alongside investing £46 million of funding from the autumn budget to boost council planning capacity and enabling local planning authorities to cover their own costs through planning fees.”
