Gove warning: Delay building homes and we'll remove your power

MICHAEL Gove has given seven councils three months to get their houses in order after revealing they have failed to deliver a plan for home building for 19 years.

- Steph Spyro

He announced new league tables for the performance of planning authorities in approving developments. Those that delay or block applications could be stripped of their powers.

The Housing Secretary said there was "no excuse" for any council not to have a plan in place for delivering the homes needed in their area.

Mr Gove named the councils - St Albans, Amber Valley, Derbys, Ashfield, Notts, Medway, Kent, and Uttlesford, Basildon, and Castle Point in Essex - which he said had failed to submit a local plan for housing since 2004.

If they fail to deliver a timetable for one, the Government may intervene. He also threatened to strip London Mayor Sadiq Kahn of his planning powers.

And he told two other authorities Chorley in Lancashire and Fareham, Hants that developers could bypass them and apply direct to the Government's planning inspectorate for building consent.