Local authorities should take ownership of property assets held by the NHS and other public bodies to fast track much-needed housebuilding schemes in local areas, council chiefs have urged.

Cllr Mike Jones, chairman of the Local Government Association's (LGA's) environment and housing board, made the demand in the aftermath of last week's Budget.

‘Central government departments and agencies should work closely with councils to pool land assets, and where necessary transfer assets to councils to allow simpler decision making so that development can be brought forward more quickly,' said Cllr Jones.

Cllr Jones cited figures showing the sector's preparedness, with 98% of councils having planned to release land for development in the next five years and 83% having partnership plans in place with developers to build new homes.

The Coalition plans to deliver £5bn worth of public sector land disposals from 2015 to 2020, having raised £1.3bn from property sell-offs since 2010. 

Department have already pledged to releasing £3.5bn of land and property and a further £1.5bn will be identified by operational reviews.  The Coalition plans to quantify its housing ambitions for the surplus land programme by the time of the 2014 Autumn Statement.

As part of last week's Budget announcement, the Cabinet Office's Government Property Unit will focus on local areas and establish a £150m fund to support the redevelopment of large housing estates through repayable loans.

Bids will shortly be invited from private sector developers, working with
local authorities on estates likely to benefit, with expressions of interest already in from the Greater London Authority on regeneration schemes in the Aylesbury Estate, Blackwall Reach and Grahame Park.

An influential Tory party donor has also urged local authorities to release their significant brownfield land holdings in order to speed up much-needed housing development.

In an interview with the Financial Times today, former property developer Sir John Ritblat, says central and local government should free up their extensive landholdings on long-term leases to boost housing supply.

He also joined his voice to critics of the DCLG's Help to Buy scheme, which has been extended to 2020, saying it would make house prices even more unaffordable.

Recently senior MPs, including Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Commons Treasury Committee and Margaret Hodge, chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee have expressed concerns about the distorting effect of the £3.8bn equity loans initiative and whether it could offer value for money.