Planning permissions for housing stall under coalition

The figures published in the New Housing Pipeline report show that through 2010 there was a steady fall in housing go-aheads, totalling just over 30,000 in Q3 – the second lowest of the past 19 quarters.

HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley said: “The report paints a bleak picture and shows how permissions, the lifeblood of housing supply, have plummeted. We already have an acute housing crisis and these figures show there is potential for it to get much worse

“The social and economic implications of this would be a disaster for the country.”

Baseley noted that the drop coincided with the coalition government’s changes to the planning system, including a shift from the old top down targets to a new localism-based approach - handing more power to local authorities.

“The government cannot afford to let confusion over planning policy reduce further the number of permissions given,” said Baseley. “Whilst the policy vacuum of the past few months is now being filled, it is vital government gets on and implements its new policies.”

However, the housebuilding industry showed signs of a tentative recovery in 2010 with the number of new homes started rising by a third, following an industry low in 2009, according to the latest figures from the National House-Building Council (NHBC).

Provisional figures from the NHBC, which provides warranties for the majority of new homes built in the UK, revealed that just over 115,000 homes were started in 2010, up from 88,100 the previous year.

Meanwhile, the number of homes completed in 2010 fell by just over 10% in the year, as housebuilders reacted to a tentative market.

Richard Tamayo, commercial director at the NHBC, said: “The registration figures look very strong compared to 2009, but then 2009 was a disaster; the industry had to bounce back a little. Unfortunately the promise of the spring was never fulfilled as uncertainty after the election and the continuing lack of mortgage availability took its toll.

“We’ve had a whiff of hope in the final quarter and things are now delicately poised.”

He added that 7,500 homes look set to have been registered in December, up on the 7,100 recorded in the same month the previous year. Completions are likely to run at about 9,100, down on the previous December, making the year-end figure for completions about 104,000. This compares with completions of 116,300 homes in 2009.

Tamayo said he expected starts to remain level or fall slightly in 2011, with completions likely to rise slightly.