The gap between Labour-led and Conservative-led councils’ residential planning application approval rates is now almost twice as wide as it was before the 2010 election – hitting 11% last year*, up from 6%**, says Lendy, one of Europe’s leading peer to peer secured property lending platforms.

Conservative-led local authorities granted just 77% of all residential property planning applications they reviewed last year, compared to 88% by Labour (see graph below)*. Before the 2010 election, Conservative and Labour authorities granted 63% and 69% of applications respectively.

Lendy says that 16 of the 20 local authorities with the highest refusal rates for residential property planning permission were Conservative-led***. These include Tandridge in Surrey, which saw just 44% of planning applications granted, East Dorset (45%), and Bournemouth (49%).

12 out of the 17 local authorities that granted 100% of the planning applications they received*** were Labour-led, including, Lincoln, Greenwich, and Rotherham.

Lendy explains that one of the main reasons for the disparity is that Conservative-run local authorities are likely to receive more applications for building in underdeveloped, affluent and greenfield locations, which are likely to attract more opposition from locals. These are likely to be the areas in which housing shortages are most acute.

Liam Brooke, co-founder of Lendy, comments: “These figures suggest that, despite pressure from Central Government, many local authorities are still making it hard for new homes to get built.

“Some progress has been made in the last decade, but there are too many roadblocks for developers, not least councils that refuse planning permission because they fear nimbyism.

“Property developers may want to look into a local authority’s approval track-record when selecting potential sites, as they may be more likely to run into obstacles in some areas than others.

“Alternative finance is beginning to help fill the funding gap that has opened in the property development market, but if local authorities don’t get behind developers, there will never be enough spades in the ground to make a dent in the UK’s housing shortfall.”