Angela Rayner vows to unlock 300,000 new properties in limbo from Liverpool to Essex

Angela Rayner has pledged to “get shovels in the ground” and unblock up to 300,000 new homes stuck in a planning limbo.

The Deputy PM’s new plan to tackle the housing crisis comes as official analysis suggests more than 200 large sites across the country have plans ready to go but are yet to begin construction. Ms Rayner will on Thursday launch the New Homes Accelerator – a group of experts – to smash down barriers to housebuilding.

The experienced team, including specialists from regeneration agency Homes England and the Ministry of Housing, will work across government and with local councils to revive house building schemes delayed by planning and red tape. They will focus on resolving specific local issues and deploying planning experts on the ground to work through blockages at each site identified. This includes looking at barriers to affordable housing delivery where relevant.

Four large housing sites are already progressing to deliver more than 14,000 homes across Liverpool, Worcester, Northstowe and Sutton Coldfield. Further work will get underway to fix stalled sites including Stretton Hall in Leicestershire, Tendring in Essex, and Biggleswade Garden Community in Central Bedfordshire which have the potential to unlock more than 10,000 new homes when completed.

Ms Rayner said: “For far too long the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes has been held back by a failure to make sure the development system is working as it should. This government has a moral obligation to do everything within our power to build the homes that people desperately need and we won’t hesitate to intervene where we need to.

“Our New Homes Accelerator will quickly identify blockages, fix problems and support local authorities and developers to get shovels in the ground.”

David O’Leary, Executive Director of the Home Builders Federation said: “The planning process and everything associated with it delivers too little land and has long been a significant constraint on house building. Government has shown a welcome desire in the weeks since the election to address the problems.”