The gap in approval rates for new homes between Conservative and Labour councils has doubled since the 2010 election.

For property developers meeting housing demand means overcoming two hurdles: getting funding and getting planning approval. Lendy is here to get you over the first hurdle, but our research has shown some interesting trends in where developers are struggling with the second.

Research by Lendy shows that Conservative-led local authorities granted 77% of all residential property planning applications they received last year, compared to 88% in Labour-held councils. Before the 2010 election, Conservative and Labour authorities granted 63% and 69% of applications respectively.

16 of the 20 local authorities with the lowest approval rates for residential property planning permission were Conservative-led. These include Tandridge in East Surrey, which saw 44% of planning applications granted, East Dorset (45%), and the seaside council of Bournemouth (49%). The Labour led council of Redbridge in London, had the lowest approval rate at just 39% percent.

One of the main reasons for the disparity between councils of different parties, 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.

Despite pressure from Central Government, many local authorities are still making it hard for new homes to get built.

Although progress has been made in the last decade, there are still too many obstacles for developers, not least councils which refuse to grant planning permission because they fear nimbyism.

Obviously, property developers will 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.

While gaining planning approval from local authorities can be a problem, at least alternative finance providers such as Lendy and its investors, are helping to make sure that access to finance for developers is becoming less of a problem.