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Data highlighting the scale of the challenge shows that Keir Starmer's government ir needs to increase the number of planning permits granted in the UK by more than half each year.
Data provider Glenigan Show figures say the number of homes granted planning permission in the UK last year has fallen to its lowest since 2014. This should rise by 53% to target the 370,000 planning permits set by Labour under national planning policies later last year.
“The latest plan figures show that short- and medium-term housing supply is at a critical level,” said Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation Industry Group, which publishes the data.
Priority has boosted the house building a major pledge since being elected last July, pledged 1.5 million new homes over five years.
The Minister said that not all homes granted are ultimately built, so the number of planning permits granted to reach that level of supply must be overshooted.
Workers condemn the changes to plans made by the former Conservative government under pressure from anti-development MPs due to the recession of the home's construction. The contraction of activity also reflects the effects of higher interest rates.
Grenigan figures, also used in official statistics, show that in 2024, 242,610 homes were granted permission in the UK, down 2% from the previous year. However, the data also shows the authority picked up in the last quarter of the year.
Worker reforms to the planning system have been praised by the House building industry, but both the HBF and the National Housing Union say these measures alone are not enough to reach the 1.5mn goal.
Critics of commercial home builders who provide the majority of new homes in the UK say these companies are intentionally slower than they can control supply and achieve higher selling prices.
The industry claims that building fees are limited by buyers' demand, and the solution is for government to support buyers with a loan scheme similar to the ones that will be implemented from 2013 to 2023.
Businesses say local governments are already responding to pressure from Westminster following planning reforms.
Graham Prothotho, chief executive of MJ Gleeson, who has the housing construction and land promotion division, said the authorities increasingly approve developments to maintain control of decisions rather than face appeals to the central government.
He said that progress in planning on earth is “more positive than you think.” We're watching that.”
The Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government said: “This government has inherited the broken planning system. We have already taken decisive steps to put the spades into the ground.”
