The number of residential planning applications granted in England have fallen by 8.3% year-on-year, marking at least four consecutive years of decline, according to research from Monta Capital.
Monta Capital analysed residential planning application data for England between 2018 and 2023 to better understand what role planning bureaucracy is playing in the housing crisis.
In the year 2018 to 2019, there were a total of 46,808 residential planning applications granted in England, which includes both minor and major residential developments.
In the following year, this number dropped by 6.6% to a total of 43,701, before falling again in 2020 to 2021, this time down by 10.9%.
A third consecutive decline was recorded in 2021 to 2022 (-2.7%), followed by a fourth in 2022-23 when total grants fell by 8.3% to settle at 34,785.
To solve the nation’s housing crisis, political projection suggest a need for 300,000 new homes a year.
However, Monta revealed that grants for major residential projects fell at a faster rate than any other sort of development.
Major residential developments were defined as those consisting of 10 or more new dwellings with a combined floorspace of more than 1,000 square metres.
Application grants for such developments fell by 11.5% in 2022 to 2023.
This was a greater decline than grants for minor developments, which fell by 7.8%.
Grants for major developments have fallen at a greater rate than those for minor developments every year since 2018.
Thomas Balashev, chief executive of Monta Capital, said: “It’s hard to rationalise declining planning application grants in a country that so desperately needs new homes to be built in huge numbers and at great pace.
“We should be seeing grants increase as the nation fights to provide the required homes.
“The fact that we’re seeing the opposite suggests to me that government rhetoric and pledges to increase development are little more than hot air and having no real impact on the ground floor.”
He added: “As we move into election season, we’re going to hear more and more housing pledges accompanied by optimistic, albeit unimaginative plans to address the situation.
“But what we need is genuine action. We’ve seen nothing but negative planning trends since well before the pandemic, so it’s important that pressure is placed on all parties to follow through on their promises should they take, or retain, power.”
