Ministers have pledged to fast-track planning decisions for major housing developments as part of efforts to tackle Scotland's housing crisis.
The SNP will use a new flagship housing agency to boost "planning firepower" to clear a backlog in planning applications that has been blamed for slowing the delivery of affordable homes.
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said the proposed agency could “give surge capacity to local authorities” to cope with demand, warning that “we need to be able to prioritise larger projects and be able to expedite them”.
Latest figures published by the Scottish Government in December show major housing developments are taking an average of 37 weeks to process, more than double the 16-week statutory limit.
Smaller developments of 49 homes or less are also facing delays, with decisions taking nearly five months despite a two month target.
The new agency, More Homes Scotland, was announced by First Minister John Swinney in January and is intended to accelerate the delivery of homes across all tenures, including affordable housing.
Despite a target to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, only 31,064 have been completed, as of September.
Speaking to The Scotsman, Ms McAllan admitted that “we just, frankly, need to build more affordable homes”.
She said: “The agency is going to bring fire-power to all of this.”
Ms McAllan also warned that planning delays risk deterring investment.
“I believe it should feel facilitative - it should not feel like a hindrance," she added.
“Obviously, we need local democracy, so people need a say on developments in and around their homes, but it needs to be proportionate.
“We need to be able to prioritise larger projects and be able to expedite them.”