Between January and March 2024, district level planning authorities in England experienced a significant decrease in planning applications and decisions compared to the same period last year.
The authorities received 85,800 applications for planning permission, a decrease of 11%. They decided 79,100 applications, down 9%, and granted 67,400 decisions, a decline of 10%. This represents 85% of decisions, a drop of one percentage point from the previous year.
Major applications saw a slight improvement, with 90% decided within 13 weeks or the agreed time, up one percentage point. Additionally, 19% of major applications were decided within the statutory period of 13 weeks, an increase of two percentage points.
Residential applications granted totalled 7,800, down 7%, and 1,600 applications for commercial developments were granted, a reduction of 4%. Householder development applications decided were 39,800, down 15%, accounting for 50% of all decisions, a decrease from 53% the previous year.
For the year ending March 2024, district level planning authorities granted 285,300 decisions, a decrease of 13%, and granted 32,000 residential applications, down 8% from the previous year.
Phil Lawford, national account manager at Saffron Building Society, commented on the data: “Today’s data paints a clear picture: it has become too difficult to meet building targets in Britain. With the election just a month away, it would be great to see the next government address this issue, and put a long-term plan in place not only to meet the housebuilding targets which have been consistently missed in recent years, but also to meet the growing demand for green housing.
“Supporting self- and custom-build projects offers another way to boost applications. Around 13,000 individuals in the UK embark on building their own homes annually, a figure that rivals some of the largest national housebuilders but is still far behind the levels of our European counterparts. By increasing support for these projects, we can help more people realise their dream of owning a home and help meet government housebuilding targets.”
