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Sir Keir Starmer’s authorities might want to enhance the variety of planning permissions granted in England annually by greater than half to hit its housebuilding targets, in response to information that highlights the dimensions of the problem.
The variety of houses given planning permission in England final 12 months fell to the bottom since 2014, figures from information supplier Glenigan present. This might want to rise by 53 per cent to hit the 370,000 planning permissions goal that Labour set beneath its nationwide planning coverage late final 12 months.
“The most recent planning figures present that housing provide within the brief and medium phrases is at essential disaster ranges,” mentioned Neil Jefferson, chief govt of the Dwelling Builders Federation business group, which publishes the info.
Starmer’s administration has made boosting housebuilding a key pledge because it was elected final July, promising 1.5mn new houses over 5 years.
Ministers have mentioned they should overshoot on the variety of planning permissions granted to achieve that degree of provide — the best in a technology — since not all houses given permission are in the end constructed.
Labour blames planning modifications made by the previous Conservative authorities, beneath stress from anti-development MPs, for the downturn in housebuilding. The contraction in exercise additionally displays the impression of upper rates of interest.
Glenigan’s figures, that are additionally utilized in official statistics, present 242,610 houses had been granted permission in England in 2024, down 2 per cent from the 12 months earlier than. However the information additionally reveals permissions picked up within the ultimate quarter of the 12 months.
Labour’s reforms to the planning system have been praised by the housebuilding business, however each the HBF and the Nationwide Housing Federation have mentioned these measures alone is not going to be sufficient to achieve the 1.5mn goal.
Critics of the industrial housebuilders, who present the overwhelming majority of the UK’s new houses, say these corporations intentionally construct slower than they may do to manage provide and obtain larger promoting costs.
The business argues that constructing charges are restricted by purchaser demand, and say the answer is for the federal government to assist patrons with a mortgage scheme much like Assist to Purchase, which ran from 2013 to 2023. First time patrons specifically have struggled with affordability given the upper mortgage charges over the previous two years.
Corporations say native authorities are already responding to the stress from Westminster following the planning reforms.
Graham Prothero, chief govt of MJ Gleeson, which has housebuilding and land promotion divisions, mentioned authorities are more and more approving developments to maintain management of decision-making, relatively than going through appeals over their heads to central authorities.
He mentioned the progress on planning on the bottom “is extra constructive than you assume. We’re seeing it”.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Native Authorities mentioned: “This authorities inherited a damaged planning system . . . We have now already taken decisive steps to get spades within the floor.”
