The number of planning permissions granted in the year to
June 2017 is the highest seen annually since the Home Builders Federation and
Glenigan began their Housing Pipeline reports in 2006, according to the two
companies.
The latest Housing Pipeline report reveals that permission
for 321,982 new homes was granted during the 12-month period, demonstrating the
confidence of housebuilders with demand for the Help to Buy equity loan scheme
continuing to drive the numbers, providing first time buyers with a step on the
housing ladder, HBF said.
It added that more than 200,000 people – mostly first time
buyers – now live in a new build home thanks to Help to Buy.
A separate HBF report, Stepping Up, examines the impact Help
to Buy has had on the housing market. It shows that the scheme now accounts for
one in 12 of all households starting on the housing ladder. Stepping Up also
considers the initiative’s economic benefits to communities, with 170,000 jobs
sustained through Help to Buy completions.
HBF urged the government to clarify the future of Help to Buy
beyond its expiry date of 2021 to determine housebuilders’ investment decisions
on land, training and supply chains.
Meanwhile, planning permissions may have hit an all-time
high, but with the still-laborious planning system, HBF said it could still
take three to four years to reach the stage where many of these could be built
out.
There was also concern that the number of sites on which
permissions were granted was continuing to drop, HBF continued. This suggested
that bigger sites were being favoured. HBF called upon local authorities to
allocate an increased number of smaller sites, particularly to aid smaller
housebuilders and to “lead to increases in both the number of homes being built
and industry capacity”.
Stewart Baseley, HBF’s executive chairman, said: “These
record planning permission figures are a clear indication that housebuilders
are committed to increasing housing output. We’ve seen 50% growth in output
over the last three years and these figures indicate that progress can
continue.
“We need to see confirmation from government as to the future
of the very successful Help to Buy scheme post 2021. We also need to see the
proposals to improve the planning system outlined in the White Paper moved
forward and implemented.”
