UK ministers accused of caving in to pressure from anti-development lobby

UK housebuilders have accused the government of an “imminent surrender” to the “Not in my backyard” lobby, as they released data showing the number of planning permissions granted for new homes in England had fallen to a new low.

The Home Builders Federation, a trade body, warned that “an increasingly anti-development policy environment and worsening economy will see the number of homes built in the coming years fall to record low levels”.

The HBF’s latest Housing Pipeline report, which tracks planning permissions for housing in England and is seen as a gauge of future supply levels, recorded the lowest 12 month rolling total since its survey began in 2006.

The report came as Michael Gove, communities secretary, prepared to make a major planning speech in which he will claim that the government can hit key housing targets while preserving greenbelt land.

Gove will outline ideas to speed up the planning system and is expected to put pressure on local authorities to draw up local housing plans, arguing that government policy is now clear.

“They’ve got no excuse now,” said one ally of Gove. “We want a plan-led system. We think our reforms will lead to a lot more councils adopting local plans. Where they are not playing ball, we will be taking action.”

But ministers have been accused by the HBF of caving in to pressure from the Nimby lobby. “The government’s imminent surrender to Nimbys will see approvals plunge further in months ahead,” it said.

The HBF survey found that 50,316 housing units were granted planning permission in England during the third quarter of 2023, down 12 per cent on the previous three months and 28 per cent lower than in the same period last year.

It meant the 12 month rolling total for permissions, at 245,872 in September, was the lowest since the survey began.

Gove is expected this week to confirm changes to the so-called National Planning Policy Framework, with an emphasis on local plans.

Last year he abandoned “top down” mandatory housebuilding targets in the face of opposition from Tory MPs, many of whom fear that planning disputes could become a major factor in next year’s expected general election.

But Stewart Baseley, executive chair at the HBF, said: “Removing the requirement for local housing needs assessments and allowing councils to plan for as few homes as they wish will see housebuilding in some areas collapse, with investment in jobs and communities all suffering.”

Gove says the government has already met more than 90 per cent of its 2019 Conservative party election manifesto pledge of 1mn new homes during the course of the parliament and that its goal of delivering 300,000 homes a year remains.

“Last year alone we delivered over 234,000 homes, which was higher than at any point between 1997 and 2010,” Gove’s department said in a blog last week, referring to the record of the previous Labour government.

A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Homes must be built in the right places and the greenbelt must be protected.

“We will shortly be publishing our response to the NPPF consultation which sets out how we will encourage the adoption of local plans, deliver the homes we need, as well as wider changes to speed up the planning system.”