<p>More land needs to be allocated with major improvements to the planning process essential if the government’s housebuilding target is to be met as well as the “levelling up” agenda, according to a new report.</p> <p><span>The report - </span><a href="https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/feeding-the-pipeline"><i>Feeding the pipeline: Assessing how many permissions are needed for housebuilders</i></a><span> – is the third of three linked research studies by planning consultancy Lichfields, commissioned by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and the Land Promoters and Developers Federation (LPDF), exploring the housing crisis.</span></p><p></p> <p><span>One of the key causes of the housing shortage, the latest research finds, is the declining pipeline of planning consents for building plots. These “must increase rapidly” if the government wishes to reach its target of 300,000 new homes each year by the mid-2020s.</span></p><p></p> <p><span>Lichfields considers how many additional implementable planning permissions on sites are needed to achieve this target in England from the current base of 243,770 net additional homes delivered in 2019/20. </span></p><p><span>The country will need to increase delivery by 59,200 homes per annum, the report concludes. This means 474 to 1,385 additional implementable planning permissions on medium to large sites “making their way into the housebuilding sector”.</span></p><p></p> <p><span>The report also looks at practices within the …