The UK housing market is facing a formidable obstacle: a marked reduction in planning consents, which has emerged as a pivotal challenge in the government’s aspiration to construct 1.5 million homes over the forthcoming five years. According to a recent analysis by Savills, a leading property consultancy, reversing this downturn is essential to facilitating the growth of new homes. This issue underscores the need for strategic intervention to address the complexities of the planning process and to enable the housing sector to meet its ambitious targets.
Focus360 Energy: property compliance services – pre-planning to post-construction. Learn more.
Since reaching a peak in 2019, the number of planning consents in England has been on a downward trajectory, with a striking 30% decline observed over the past four years, amounting to approximately 214,000 consents granted last year. This reduction can be attributed to several compounding factors, including the increasing average size and intricacy of development sites, which consequently take longer to navigate through the planning pipeline. In stark contrast, smaller sites, typically accommodating up to 250 units, are more likely to be owned by a single landowner and necessitate less complex infrastructure. These sites can traverse the planning process more swiftly compared to their larger counterparts. Hence, there is a growing consensus that prioritising the delivery of a greater number of smaller sites is imperative to meet the goal of 1.5 million homes by 2030.
The Savills report sheds light on the status of the housebuilding pipeline in England, a crucial element in shaping effective strategies to achieve an annual construction rate of 300,000 homes. Presently, the immediate planning pipeline encompasses nearly 2.9 million homes spread across just under 13,400 sites. Notably, the largest concentration of sites resides at the latter stages of the pipeline, with approximately 6,500 sites having either a full application submitted or full permission granted. This equates to about 3.5 years of new home delivery in England. Meanwhile, a higher volume of homes is emerging in the earlier stages of the pipeline, with an average site size of 216 homes. This dynamic landscape highlights the need for a balanced focus on both short-term and long-term opportunities within the planning process.
Major housebuilders such as Taylor Wimpey, Barratt, and Persimmon are actively engaged across the entire planning pipeline, playing a significant role in the construction landscape. They are responsible for nearly half of all homes on sites currently under construction, delivering an average of around 43,700 new homes annually over the past three years. This translates to approximately two years’ worth of delivery from homes with full planning consent. Housing associations also contribute significantly, with 73,000 homes under construction as of the first half of this year, accounting for 9% of total homes at that stage. However, a notable proportion of their efforts are concentrated on shorter-term opportunities, indicating the potential for increased involvement in longer-term projects.
The public sector’s involvement is equally noteworthy, with around 316,900 homes in the immediate pipeline, of which 50% are in the early stages of the planning process. Homes England stands out as a key player in this sphere, being involved in approximately 60,200 homes within the immediate pipeline. Significantly, nine out of ten homes with Homes England’s involvement are in the preliminary stages of the planning pipeline, underscoring the importance of early engagement in facilitating housing delivery.
To realise the objective of 1.5 million homes by 2030, it is imperative that local planning authorities provide robust support for smaller sites from the outset through to construction. Such an approach would significantly bolster housing delivery and mitigate the current planning consent slump. A concerted effort from all stakeholders—government, developers, and local authorities—is critical to reversing the decline in planning consents and driving housing growth. By concentrating on smaller sites and streamlining the planning process, the government can make noteworthy progress towards its housing targets. Collaboration among large housebuilders, housing associations, and the public sector will be instrumental in achieving these objectives and ensuring a stable and sustainable housing market for the future.
Be the first to comment