The number of housebuilding sites granted planning permission fell to its lowest in Q1 this year since the dataset began in 2006, according to data from the Home Builders Federation.
In its latest Housing Pipeline report, based on data from Glenigan, the HBF found that just 1,220 sites for private housing were given the green light across England, down from around 2,000 in 2022 and nearly 3,000 in 2017.
This includes just 408 sites for 10 homes or more receiving approval, also the lowest quarterly figure since 2006. In total, approval for just over 54,000 homes was granted in the first three months of this year, significantly below the level needed to achieve the government’s ambition for an annual rate of around 300,000. The HBF says the data shows that housing supply and new consents for future delivery continue to flatline at around 200,000 per annum.
The HBF says that, while the government’s reforms of the planning system were welcomed, the huge increases in taxes and regulatory costs layered on to development over recent years have made many potential home building sites unviable for development.
The organisation estimates that the cost of delivering a new house has increased on average by £76,000 since 2020 with even higher costs for new apartments. Alongside this, it says that the industry’s ability to invest in new sites has been reduced by suppressed effective demand as a result of the lack of affordable mortgage lending and a subdued housing market, such that there is a constrained market for the homes they deliver. It is also the first time in 60 years that there is no government assistance in place for homebuyers.
The number of larger sites, of 10 or more units, has continued to fall steadily. Over the past decade, the typical number of 10+ unit sites being consented has halved from around 1,000 per quarter in 2016 to 408 in the most recent quarter. This figure is 13% down on last year, with the biggest drop in the South, where the number of approvals is down 18%.
Over the past 12 months, permission was granted for 216,141 new homes in England, representing 58% of the combined annual target for housing delivery of 370,000 established by the government, the number needed to achieve the 300,000 net additions per year target.
The number of private sector housing projects (of three or more units) granted planning permission was 1,220, 14% lower than Q4 2025 and 17% down on Q1 2025. This equates to 46,547 units given the green light, down 12% on the previous quarter. The HBF says that the figures demonstrate that, on sites of 10 or more units, the number of units per site is increasing as developers struggle to make sites viable.
Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, said: “Whilst the government’s planning reforms have been positive, because of challenging housing market conditions and the long-term assault on housing viability, the new and improved planning system is still not delivering.”
“These positive moves to boost housing supply are being thwarted by the growing level of taxation and cost of policy requirements that are making many sites simply unviable to develop. In a little over a month, government will introduce another new tax on new homes in the form of the Building Safety Levy, which will make a host of potential sites unviable at a stroke so the overall environment for home building looks like it will remain tricky in the short term.”
“Meanwhile, concerns around interest rates and the economy and a lack of affordable mortgage lending, in particular for young people, is suppressing demand for new homes and so limiting industry’s ability to build them.”
“If the government wants to see housing supply increase, it has got to look wider than planning and tackle the two major constraints of site viability and affordability. If it does, the industry stands ready to increase output, deliver more private and affordable homes, create jobs and boost growth.”
