The latest Housing Pipeline report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) found that the 10,400 sites approved during the year to June 2024 represented the smallest number for any 12-month period since the series began in 2006.
That figure – 10% down on the same period last year and 53% lower than the 2008 peak – follows a trend of decline over the past two years, in which record lows have been set in successive quarters.
For social housing projects of three or more homes, the 82 schemes approved represented a steep fall of 37% from the previous quarter, and 15% lower than a year ago.
At 5,167, the number of units on these projects was 21% down on the preceding quarter and a 27% drop from a year earlier.
In all, 2,707 schemes were granted permission in Q2 2024, a 7% fall from the previous quarter and 9% lower than a year earlier. In terms of overall units, the 62,103 approved in Q2 2024 were 3% down on Q1 and 12% lower than the corresponding quarter in 2023.
Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the HBF, said that the new numbers “starkly illustrate the challenge the new government faces to boost housing supply”.
Approvals will need to increase by 55% to reach the government’s new annual target of 370,000 new homes, said the HBF, which has welcomed changes by Labour to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
In late July, Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, announced a consultation on a new draft NPPF, which will raise councils’ housebuilding targets by about 70,000 homes a year by changing how local housing need is counted.
“While the speedy interventions on planning are very welcome, there are a number of determinants on housing supply levels,” Mr Jefferson said.
“The lack of affordable mortgage availability means more support for buyers is needed,” he said. “Creating demand for new homes provides the confidence the industry needs to invest and deliver both private and affordable homes.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a 10-year rent settlement for social landlords in the next Budget, due on 30 October, with the government having promised greater certainty to enable them to “plan for the future”.
Sector leaders have welcomed that prospect as providing a foundation for increasing housing supply, after years of uncertainty under successive Conservative governments. In August, the G15 group of large London housing associations called for a minimum 10-year settlement and a guarantee that would not be altered, in order for financial challenges in the sector to be met.
Mr Jefferson added: “The upcoming Budget provides an opportunity for the government to take more positive steps to address the mounting housing crisis and to commit to their pledge to get Britain building again.”
Source - insidehousing.co.uk
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