Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, The number of sites remaining undeveloped after the grant of planning permission is indeed a concern (letters, Mar 12). Many appear to be owned by speculators with no intention, or ability, to build. Merely owning a site with a valuable permission usually guarantees profitability as it benefits from the general increase in land values owing to scarcity and the prospect of relaxed planning controls, driven by the desperate need for more housing, built to ever-higher densities. There is also the chance of obtaining permission for something incrementally “bigger and better” in the future with new applications. A step in the right direction to halt this impasse would be for limits on expiry dates to be tighter and an end

Source: The Times March 13, 2025 09:33 UTC