Planning permissions drop to lowest level since HBF pipeline report began

Planning permissions granted for new homes in England have fallen to a record low, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF).

The number of new homes permissions for the third quarter of this year were down 12% to reach 50,316 housing units in the three months to September 2023, the lowest quarterly figure recorded since the HBF’s Housing Pipeline Report began in 2006.

Over the last 12 months, planning permissions have been 28% lower than in the same period a year ago. 

The report, using data from Glenigan, shows that 2,447 projects were granted planning permission in the year to September, a drop of almost a fifth on the same period last year. Housing schemes of ten or more units accounted for 91% approved projects in the third quarter.

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In the year to September 2023, the number of units gaining permission was 245,872 – 15% lower than last year and the lowest yearly figure since 2015. 

The HBF estimates that as a result of this 15% decline in permission, housing supply could drop to fewer than 200,000 per year in 2024, which would be the lowest since 2014.

Stewart Baseley, the HBF’s executive chairman described it as “the inevitable outcome of several years of anti-growth policy” that puts politics above a “worsening housing crisis”. 

He said: “If ministers continue with the proposals to rid the planning system of targets and consequences, no matter how it is packaged, it will result in fewer new homes and represents another victory for NIMBY backbenchers. 

“Removing the requirement for local housing needs assessments and allowing councils to plan for as few homes as they wish will see housebuilding in some areas collapse with investment in jobs and communities all suffering.”

The latest half-year results from Homes England broadly follow this downward trend.

Its figures show 11,530 new houses were started and 11,297 new homes completed between 1 April and 30 September 2023.

This represented a decrease of 22% in starts and 6% in completions, compared with 14,812 and 12,118, respectively, over the same period in 2022.