Planning permissions hit 11-year low – MHCLG

The number of housing units granted planning permission in the year to June fell 15% to 231,000 against the equivalent period the previous year, according to figures cited by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).

This is the lowest annual figure since 191,000 homes were granted by district level planning authorities in 2013. And it is a 31% decrease on the high of 336,000 homes approved in the year to June 2019.

Last week, the Home Builders Federation’s Housing Pipeline Report revealed that just over 230,000 units achieved approval in the past 12 months – the lowest figure for any 12-month period in the last ten years.

In the year ending June 2024, 10,400 sites were approved according to HBF’s data, the lowest for a 12-month period since the Pipeline publication began in 2006.

MHCLG’s data also shows that the number of planning applications granted by local planning authorities in England fell 8% year-on-year to 31,600 in the 12 months to June 2024.

During April to June 2024, district level planning authorities gave 7,600 residential applications consent, a 5% drop on the same quarter a year earlier.

Real estate consultant Knight Frank said that …