Houses in pipeline down for first time since recession

The number of homes given planning permission in England this year has fallen for the first time since the end of the financial crisis.

The data, included in government planning statistics released today, is the latest sign of a slowdown in the residential construction market.

According to provisional data provided to the government by Glenigan, 365,200 homes received planning permission in the year to September 2019, a drop of 3% from the 377,700 homes that were approved in the previous year.

This is the first time an annual fall has been recorded since 2011, when only 171,700 homes won approval. However, statisticians warned that the figures were provisional and could be revised up when further data comes in.

The government also published figures today showing a drop in the number of residential planning permissions that were submitted and granted in the year to September. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said that 6,000 decisions on major residential projects – covering schemes of 10 homes or more – were taken in the same 12-month period, down 6% on the previous year.

A further 39,500 planning decisions were taken on minor residential projects, down 5%.

The data follows on from new orders figures which are on a broadly declining trend from a peak in 2017. Residential new orders were down 8% in the year to September and housebuilding figures show the number of starts at well below 2018 levels.

However, this apparent slowdown comes after a period of the highest level of new house completions for decades. Last month the government released data showing that net additions had hit 241,000 in the past year, above the pre-recession peak.