Council planning departments should be given a time limit to sign off permission in a bid to speed up the delivery of new housing, according to a new survey of developers.

The 2016 house building report from Knight Frank showed that while more than half of businesses planned to increase starts and completions over the next year challenges within the planning system were having a negative impact on supply.

Three-quarters of those surveyed said additional resources were needed in local authority planning departments.

Despite a pledge by government to unlock around 600 acres of public sector land last year, only a quarter of respondents reported a rise in the availability of land owned by local government for sale over the last 12 months.

The report read: ‘Accessing public sector land remains a challenge for house builders, despite a large-scale effort from policymakers to release such unused land. 

‘There seems to be a blockage in the system, hampering the swift movement from the identification of a potential site for sale to development.

The survey also revealed that only one in ten house builders thought the Government was likely to meet its Starter Homes target in current market conditions, with 46% saying the initiative would make no difference to the number of affordable housing units across the country.

A Department for Communication and Local Government spokesman said: 'Our planning reforms are working, with latest figures showing that more than 80% of major applications were signed off on time by local authorities - the highest figure on record.

'However, we're not complacent and our plans to fast-track applications will not only speed up the planning process but allow departments to use their resources more effectively.'