Official data released in September showing that planning permissions for new homes have fallen to a record low under Labour’s government have been described as ‘unacceptable’ by housing secretary Steve Reed.
Approximately 7,000 planning applications for new homes were approved between April and June 2025 – the lowest since records began in 1979 and an 8% fall compared to the same period in 2024. A similar report was released in March 2025, when it was confirmed that just 242,610 homes were approved (not built) in 2024, the lowest since 2014, and that overall, delivery numbers were falling annually.
These trends suggest that the government will struggle to deliver the 1.5 million homes promised in their manifesto, which translates to 325,000 homes per year.
A March report by the Home Builders Federation called for action to increase housing numbers, including more support for first-time buyers, addressing problems in the affordable housing S106 market, increasing resourcing to the planning profession (on the local authority side) and recognising the impacts that tax changes and new policy burdens have on development viability.
The government did fund the hire of 300 new planners, but that only equates to one per local authority area. The autumn budget is predicted to introduce more taxes, including a potential overhaul of stamp duty and council tax which could further impact the development sector. The impending changes to the private rental sector will also affect the buy-to-let market, which makes up 20% of housing stock, with buy-to-let investors accounting for 10% of purchases in 2024, down from 16% in 2015.
But the news isn’t all bad. The figures from the summer show that approvals are up by 2%, with 88% of all applications being approved, and 91% of major applications granted on time. And though the number of residential applications granted was at an all-time low, in fairness to Councils, fewer applications were received in the first place, so the drop in numbers is partially on the applicant side.
The fall in planning permissions is surprising given the tangible changes that the government has made to the planning system, notably the shake-up of 5-year land supply calculations, which has meant nearly every local authority in Norfolk and Suffolk is under-delivering on housing. This opens up opportunities to apply for housing which may not previously have been supported. And yet, numbers are dropping. Why?
I have written before about the burdens of Nutrient Neutrality, Biodiversity Net Gain and the increasingly onerous process of validation delaying the planning process. The latest problem faced in many areas is a lack of capacity for sewage in water recycling centres. All of these play their part in deterring developers from the sector, and all of them have been brought about at a government, national level, not a local one. I cannot help but feel that there are fundamental contradictions (or perhaps ignorance) between the government’s admirable aims and the red tape they continue to do very little to manage or mitigate.
In my role working on rural planning schemes in Norfolk and Suffolk, we have seen people increasingly discouraged from pursuing schemes due to rising build costs combined with the unappealing changes to the private rental sector and the slowing of the residential sales market.
On a positive note though, I feel that we are lucky to have some of the best local authorities in the country in this area, most of whom work proactively with us and are very reasonable and fair. We have enjoyed a 95% success rate with our planning applications in 2025 and though this is in part due to our knowledge of local policy and resulting ability to make applications succeed, some of this has to be credited to local planners.
I was listening to PM on BBC Radio 4 last week, and Victoria Hills, CEO of the RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) was asked to give a one-word answer to the question, ‘Will the government deliver 1.5 million homes during its term?’. Her answer was ‘maybe’. I confess that I am less optimistic for reasons of simple maths. With only 200,000 homes completed in year one of Labour’s term, delivery would need to almost double overnight to hit the 1.5m target in the remaining 4 years.
