Labour’s planning policy changes are welcome, but won’t deliver enough homes | Letters

The new government is right to set ambitious housebuilding targets when housing need in England is at an all-time high (New home planning approvals in England fall to lowest level in a decade, 19 September). However, initial government data on housebuilding indicates that we only built 153,800 homes last year – half of Labour’s 300,000 target. This shortfall and our worsening housing crisis are the result of decades of underinvestment in social housing and short-term, piecemeal approaches to housing and planning.

The recent changes to planning policy announced by the new government will help unlock more land and increase build rates, but alone they won’t be enough to ramp up delivery to 1.5m homes in this parliament. The only way to increase build figures to this level is through a significant increase in funding for social housing and specific social rent, which does not rely on market conditions.

While the delivery and supply of new homes for sale are reliant on the private market, social housing is not affected by consumer demand, as waiting lists mean homes are let immediately, making it the only source of countercyclical delivery. It can therefore provide a steady supply of homes and prop up the construction industry and jobs. Building social and affordable homes is also great value for money for the government, cutting the benefits bill and saving on homelessness prevention, temporary accommodation and the NHS.
Kate Henderson
Chief executive, National Housing Federation

Based on the latest published government figures, planning approvals in England have indeed, as the Home Builders Federation (HBF) says, fallen to a 10-year low, dropping 10% between 2023 and 2024 (January to March figures).

However, this is only half of the story: over the same period, the number of planning applications made, including those by HBF members, has also dropped, by 11%.

It is also worth noting that, according to the Planning Portal Application Index published in June 2024, which reflects applications made through the Planning Portal (which is compulsory for applications in England), while 2.7m homes were granted planning permission between 2015 and 2024, Office for National Statistics figures show that only 1.5m homes had been completed in the same period. Only a small proportion of the 1.2m “missing” homes can be explained as still being in construction. These figures raise the question: are HBF members sitting on unbuilt planning permissions? And if so, why?
Jon Barker
London

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