This happens everywhere in enterprise and government because policies and processes are designed to avoid mistakes or embarassment at any cost (because those risks are internalised by the bureacracy and therefore "real") but do not account for the cost of not being able to get anything done, because those are externalised and everyone involved in the various committees and review processes gets paid regardless.
I wish there were better ways to align incentives here.
The UK (and particularly England) is the among the most centralised countries in Europe. The overwhelming amount of local government funding comes from central government, with local taxation being a small fraction. This means there's very little incentive for local governments to approve development, because they don't see the financial benefits but do have to fund local services, and they're the ones that get blamed by NIMBYs.
That mentality is exactly what leads to the problem. You want to hold everyone organization accountable for every perceived failing which leads them to optimize towards a state where they can justify existence but do as little as possible to minimize the potential for any perceived failing.
I wish there were better ways to align incentives here.