Decisions on major housing developments are taking longer than ever, and are well beyond government guidelines, according to new data.

The latest Scottish Government statistics on planning performance show the time taken to decide major housing developments for the first quarter of this year has increased to its slowest yet at over 64 weeks.

This is four times the statutory period of 16 weeks and, compared to the same quarter last year, represents an increase of over 80%.

The data comes at a time of a severe shortage of new homes being built. Figures show that new builds in Scotland are 40% below pre-recession levels.

Describing the figures as “disappointing on a number of fronts”, Nicola Barclay, director of planning at trade body Homes for Scotland, said: “It is glaringly obvious that the system needs to gear up significantly if Scotland is to provide enough homes to meet the diverse housing needs of its growing population.

“This demonstrates the scale of challenge facing the independent panel tasked with undertaking the current ‘root and branch’ review of the planning system.”