‘Dearth of housing applications’ means Sandwell Council making £625,000 less than expected
A council is expecting to make £625,000 less from planning applications this year because of a drop in ‘large’ housing developments.
Sandwell Council said the plunge in income was because of a lack of developers coming forward to build across the Black Country borough since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Labour-run council also blamed the lack of available land as well as the amount of contaminated land which deterred developers.
Cllr Peter Hughes, cabinet member for regeneration and infrastructure, told a council scrutiny meeting the significant drop in income was due to an “ongoing dearth of larger planning applications” since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“A few years ago, pre-pandemic, we would have got larger planning applications taking place and we would have expected income to come through on that basis,” he told the scrutiny meeting on October 28.
“We thought that things would get better but it is not getting better quickly enough.
“We’ve been expecting income to be coming in because of regeneration but it’s not occurring.
“Private developers are not coming forward enough to increase the income.”
Cllr Hughes said Sandwell was “lacking the land availability” compared to other councils and the land it did have was contaminated because of the region’s industrial history.
“It’s a problem and it doesn’t necessarily attract the developers coming in,” he added.
“We need a lot of subsidy attached to some of these developments. They’re not easy.
“In other parts of the country they are talking about green and grey belt, we’ve got a problem with our industrialised land and that’s a fact.”
The cabinet member for regeneration said the council had created ‘masterplans’ for some of its towns – including Smethwick and West Bromwich – which it hoped would attract attention from developers in the future.
“These would generate income [from planning applications] in the future but they are not on the table now,” he said.
Cllr Vicki Smith, cabinet member for housing, added: “We expected to have more income and the reality is that we are now having to say that that is not realistic.”
The latest budget reports from Sandwell Council show the authority is expecting to receive at least £625,000 less than originally predicted from planning fees.
The council charges for various planning applications, land charges and building control, ranging from £528 for an extension to more than £31,000 for developments of 50 houses or more.
The Labour-run council is currently scrutinising its budget proposals for 2026/27 – which will be set at the start of next year.
The medium term financial plan, which covers the Black Country authority’s budgets for the next five years, shows the £625,000 reduction every year until at least 2031 if the shortfall in planning applications submitted continues.
