Developers are sitting on land for more than 130,000 homes in England that have never been built.
The record gap between planning permissions granted and new homes being built is the record gap between planning permissions granted and new homes being built.
North-west England and London had the worst gaps, with only 50% of new homes being built where planning permission had been obtained between 2012 and 2017.
The analysis of housing ministry (MCHLG) figures showed that in 2016-17, planning permission for 313,700 new homes was given, but only 183,570 homes built, meaning a notional annual gap of more than 130,000 homes, the biggest divergence since records began in 2006.
The record gap between planning permissions granted and new homes being built is the record gap between planning permissions granted and new homes being built.
North-west England and London had the worst gaps, with only 50% of new homes being built where planning permission had been obtained between 2012 and 2017.
The analysis of housing ministry (MCHLG) figures showed that in 2016-17, planning permission for 313,700 new homes was given, but only 183,570 homes built, meaning a notional annual gap of more than 130,000 homes, the biggest divergence since records began in 2006.
The percentage of homes built versus permission granted was just 58%, a rate that has been roughly steady since 2012.
In London last year, there was a gap of more than 29,000 homes, a similar gap to the north-west, where the gap is more than 27,000, just 44% of the units given permission.
Landowners sell at a price that factors in a significant increase in value after obtaining planning consent, meaning a hectare of agricultural land worth £20,000 can sell for closer to £2m if it is zoned for housing. Developers regularly deny using land to speculate.
Greg Beales, the Shelter housing charity’s director of policy and campaigns, said the UK could not afford to fall behind. “We have become overly reliant on big developers who will only build as fast as they can sell, but many people simply can’t afford the homes they have to offer,” he said. “This has created a massive logjam, which can only be unblocked if we bring down the cost of land and start building the social homes which people actually need.”
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