Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to introduce a time limit on the duration of development once a building's work has commenced.

The Government is clear that developers should build-out permissions as quickly as possible. Where planning permission has been granted for new development, or where sites are stalled or experiencing delays to being delivered, it is for local authorities and developers to work closely together at a local level to overcome any barriers. There are instances where delays in starting or progressing sites may be avoidable and the Government wants to empower authorities with the tools to respond to such cases. Consequently, we are exploring all options to support faster build out as part of the wider package of proposed planning reforms.