<p>Planning delays and under-resourced planning departments have contributed to a drop in Redrow’s half year completions, Matthew Pratt, Redrow’s group ceo, said today. </p><p><span>During the six months to January 2 2022, Redrow’s total completions decreased to 2,749 against H1’s 3,065, with private completions falling by 140 homes to 2,290. The company explained this was due to a reduction in apartment completions with its move out of London and outlet constraints in some areas due to “very high demand” and delays to planning.</span></p><p></p><p><span>Pratt pointed out to </span><i>Housebuilder</i><span> the ongoing problem with stretched planning resources, with officers in demand from various other sectors. To a large business such as Redrow, the effect was simply “a delay. We have the resources”. However, “for the smaller guys it is harder. We reply upon them as much as everyone else.”</span></p><p></p><p><span>On the government’s delayed planning reform, Pratt said that some of the measures proposed 18 months ago “were more utopian – we didn’t expect they would get through.” But Redrow still supported the reforms’ “direction of travel” in aiding housebuilders.</span></p><p></p><p><span>“Ultimately the government has reached a point where they need to think about what they’re going to do with [reform],” Pratt said. “There’s still a chronic shortage …