Over 28,000 homes held up in planning logjam, report finds

ALMOST a year’s supply of housing is being held up in a planning ‘logjam’ and court disputes, a report has found.

A leading construction consultancy estimates 20,683 housing units were yet to be decided upon by the end of 2023, due to the logjam at An Bord Pleanála. And another 8,139 units are being held up in judicial reviews at the High Court.

Combined, the 28,822 units comprise almost a year’s housing output at current rates.

Mitchell McDermott Construction Consultants, which published the report, said decisions on the 20,683 units, which are in Strategic Housing Developments, are overdue by 16 months on average.

An SHD is a fast-track planning process for schemes of 100 apartments or houses, or more than 200 student beds.

The SHD scheme was introsaid. duced in 2016 to expedite the planning process.

However, it was undermined by delays and is now being wound down, but many schemes still in the system are awaiting the green light.

Such lengthy delays are costing developers €125m – a cost that is being passed on to consumers through the price of new homes, the report says.

It says such projects, which should create vitally needed new homes – are being left to ‘wither on the vine’ and it calla for the urgent recruitment of new planners.

Another 31,000 SHD units have permission but are yet to start. Paul Mitchell, one of the authors, said it is unacceptable that in the middle of a housing crisis so many developments are left in limbo.

‘We highlighted this issue at An Bord Pleanála previously and urged them to take on more planners, but the situation has not been addressed in any meaningful way,’ he ‘We are told increasing the supply of housing is the number one priority but that doesn’t appear to be the case when you see delays of this magnitude in what is supposed to be a fast-track planning system.’

Mr Mitchell says that as well as undermining confidence and creating uncertainty, the delays came with a cost.

‘For example, on a 100-unit scheme, it costs about €2,500 on average per unit to submit a scheme for planning. This means the delays in An Bord Pleanála have cost developers [and ultimately the buyer or renter] €75milion on these 20,683 units.

‘If you add the finance holding costs, it increases to €125million. This cost – over €6,000 per unit – is passed on to the consumer and all because An Bord Pleanála doesn’t have enough planners.’

In stark contrast, 98% of large-scale residential developments (LRDs) have been decided on in time with no outstanding judicial reviews for them at end of 2023, the report says.

Mr Mitchell says the different outcomes for LRDs provided some grounds for optimism going forward. They are subject to a mix of the standard planning application process and the SHD process.

The report also found that 87 SHD schemes comprising almost 31,000 units – or another year’s worth of output – have planning permission but are not yet being built, for reasons including viability issues and site sales.

However, Mitchell McDermott says the sector welcomed the fall in general construction inflation to just 2% last year, down from 12% in 2022.