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Written question asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 February 2017, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 February 2017. It was answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 February 2017 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Housing: Construction

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the publication of the White Paper Fixing our broken housing market, what is their estimate of the level of disruption and delay caused to house building by the failure to secure timely utility connections.

Answer

Timely utility connections are key in ensuring that the homes this country needs are built. A range of factors may cause delays to build out of housing developments, such as discharging planning conditions and obligations, dealing with issues around protected species, or shortages in construction skills. Some builders cite the complex process and time it can take to make utility connections as one of the more significant delays in providing new homes, and have estimated it can in some cases add a three to six month delay after construction has started.

This is why we have committed in the White Paper to review what more we could do to ensure that utilities planning and delivery keeps pace with house building and supports developments across the country.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL5321
Session
2016-17
Subjects
Construction Housing Utilities
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk