<p><span>Planning permission deadlines are to be extended as part of measures to be introduced this week to “help the construction industry boost building and return to work safely,” housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced today (June 22).</span><span></span></p> <p><span>For sites with an expiry date between the beginning of lockdown and the end of the year, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will extend consents to April 1 2021. “This will prevent work that has been temporarily disrupted by the pandemic from stopping altogether,” MHCLG said.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>By the end of this month alone, according to MHCLG estimates, more than 400 residential permissions of more than 24,000 new homes would have expired.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>Under the new measures, planning appeals will also be accelerated, MHCLG said, with the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) allowed to use more than one procedure simultaneously when considering a planning appeal.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>This follows a pilot programme - as part of recommendations from the Rosewell Review - which MHCLG said reduced the time taken for appeal inquiries from 47 weeks to 23 weeks.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>The measures would also help housebuilders to “quickly agree” more flexible construction site working hours with their local authority, MHCLG added. “This will make it easier to follow …