The latest Housing Pipeline Report from the Home Builders Federation has revealed that the number of new homes and sites given planning permission has continued to plummet in the 12 months to March 2024
The data showed that the year to March 2024 also saw the fewest new housing sites consented than during any 12-month period since the data collection began in 2006.
The findings highlight that the housing pipeline is significantly smaller now than it was even during the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.
The latest planning permission numbers confirm the impacts of changes to the system
Planning permissions are a lead indicator of future supply levels and highlight the ongoing lack of support for hard-pressed first-time buyers.
The new figures also illustrate the challenge a new government faces to increase housing supply in the coming years.
Ministers must now work closely with the industry to fix the planning system, effectively assist first-time buyers, and unblock the estimated 160,000 new homes held up by the government’s quango neutrality rules.
The number of units achieving planning permission is the lowest 12-month total for almost a decade
The report found that the number of units achieving planning permission in the year ending Q1 2024 was 236,644.
This is a 13% drop year over year and 22% from Q1 2022.
The number of units approved during Q1 2024 – 53,862 – is the lowest quarterly total since Q2 2015.
This is a 19% drop from the previous quarter and 13% in the same period last year.
Immediate action must be taken to reverse the changes made to the planning system
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman at the Home Builders Federation, said: “Amidst a deepening housing crisis and with house building levels already falling sharply, these numbers present a bleak picture for future housing supply.
“The report also puts into stark perspective the challenges a new government faces to meet its housing ambitions with a pipeline smaller even than during 2009 and the depths of the recession.
“Reversing the trend will require immediate and drastic action to remove the significant barriers to housing delivery we face.
“We need to see immediate action to reverse the damaging changes made in recent years to the planning system and to ensure local authorities have the capacity to deal effectively with permissions.
“We also need to see effective support put in place to help buyers purchase high quality, energy efficient new homes. For the first time in many decades, there is no effective government support in place for prospective buyers.”
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