The latest Housing Pipeline report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) contains data supplied by Glenigan and shows the number of planning permissions being granted for new homes has continued to decline in the third quarter of the year – falling to another record low.

Planning permissions are a lead indicator of future supply levels, and the latest report confirms industry warnings that an increasingly anti-development policy environment and worsening economy will see the number of homes built in the coming years fall to record low levels.

The report shows:

• The number of sites granted planning permission in the past 12-months in England was the lowest quarterly figure recorded since the Housing Pipeline Report began in 2006
• 2,447 projects were granted planning permission, down 3% on the previous quarter and 19% lower than the same period last year
• At 50,316, the number of housing units granted permission in England during Q3 of 2023 was down 12% on the previous quarter and 28% lower than Q3 in 2022
• In the year to September 2023, the number of units gaining permission was 245,872 – a 15% drop on the previous year and the lowest for a 12-month period since Q3 2015.

If the 15% drop in approved units this year outlined in the Housing Pipeline report translates into completions as we move into 2024 housing supply could drop to fewer than 200,000 per year, the lowest since 2014.

Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman at the Home Builders Federation said:

“This is the inevitable outcome of several years of anti-growth policy and rhetoric.

"Businesses have warned for some time that the impact of Government action would be severe but now there is now a mounting body of evidence.

"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.

"Putting politics and Party management above the interests of those households struggling amidst a worsening housing crisis may seem attractive in the short-term but the long-term consequences for the economy and society are horrendous.”