Housing supply ‘lowest since the pandemic’

According to the latest housing supply statistics, published by the Ministry for Housing, housing supply in England totalled 221,070 net additional dwellings in 2023-24, a 6.5 per cent decrease on 2022-23.

This resulted from:

• 198,610 new build home completions (90 per cent)
• 21,590 gains from change of use between non-domestic and residential
• 4,360 from conversions between houses and flats
• 1,900 other gains (caravans, house boats, etc)
• offset by 5,390 demolitions.

The ‘net additional dwelling’ figures are based on local authority estimates of gains and losses of dwellings during each year and are calculated using the most comprehensive list of sources available. 

The data captures completions in the year to 31 March 2024.

Between 2022-23 net additional dwellings totalled 234,290 a zero per cent change from the previous period.

The last time there was a decrease was during the Covid-19 pandemic which saw nationwide restrictions in place between 2020-21 with net additional dwelling totalling 217,750, down 12 per cent from 2019-20.

Net additional dwellings reached a previous peak of 223,530 in 2007-08 and then decreased to 130,610 in 2012-13 with the economic downturn and but increased to a peak of 248,590 in 2019-20.

In the months following the general election, Labour has stood firm on their promise to deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years.

However, energy performance certificate (EPC) registrations and granted planning permissions in the months since March 2024 predict the number of units being granted planning permission currently sits at 130,000.

Labour recently unveiled new mandatory housing targets, which would rise to 370,000 a year from 300,000 for all councils in England.

Last week, as announced in the Autumn Budget, an additional £3 billion in housing guarantees will be available to help builders apply for more accessible loans from banks and lenders.

The new package aims to support SME housebuilders and the Build-to-Rent sector, and deliver more than 20,000 new homes.

On top of that Chancellor Rachel Reeves also pledged to increase the housing supply to over £5 billion, with £500 million injected into the current affordable homes programme, increasing it to £3.1 billion.

Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive of the Home Builders Federation, said: “Today’s figures and other, more up-to-date indicators of new housing supply starkly illustrates the scale of the challenge we face if we are to increase housing supply to the ambitious level Government is a quite rightly targeting.

“The positive planning policy reforms announced in July were welcome but will take time to come through and the decline in output has been caused by multiple factors that go beyond planning policy.

“It is the first time in decades there has been no support scheme in place for first-time buyers and with only a limited market for new homes there is a very obvious constraint on output.

“Delays in the planning process caused by a lack of resources and inefficiency at a local level are a daily feature of trying to build homes while 160,000 new homes remain blocked because of European rules on nutrient neutrality.

“If the Government can reverse the decline in house building of recent years it will deliver a huge social and economic boost to our communities, but unfortunately the starting point is a difficult one that will require an ongoing concerted effort to address”

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The firm was appointed to the upgrade scheme by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), as part of a wider £3.8 billion estate modernisation programme.  

ISG will refurbish and return to use 300 single-person cells at the Category B men’s prison in the Winson Green area of the city. 

It is understood to be the firm’s “largest refurbishment project to date”. 

ISG is also one of four project partners on the MoJ’s £1 billion New Prisons Programme Alliance to deliver four new adult male prisons across the UK. 

The contractor has also been appointed to the MoJ’s five-year, £2.5 billion Constructor Services Framework, providing access to national and regional projects valued up to £30 million. 

“The MoJ continues to be one of our most innovative and progressive customers across a range of measures – from procurement approaches, modern methods of construction (MMC) adoption and as an environmental, social and governance (ESG) trailblazer,” said Alister McNeil, sector director for justice, ISG. 

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The firm was appointed to the upgrade scheme by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), as part of a wider £3.8 billion estate modernisation programme.  

ISG will refurbish and return to use 300 single-person cells at the Category B men’s prison in the Winson Green area of the city. 

It is understood to be the firm’s “largest refurbishment project to date”. 

ISG is also one of four project partners on the MoJ’s £1 billion New Prisons Programme Alliance to deliver four new adult male prisons across the UK. 

The contractor has also been appointed to the MoJ’s five-year, £2.5 billion Constructor Services Framework, providing access to national and regional projects valued up to £30 million. 

“The MoJ continues to be one of our most innovative and progressive customers across a range of measures – from procurement approaches, modern methods of construction (MMC) adoption and as an environmental, social and governance (ESG) trailblazer,” said Alister McNeil, sector director for justice, ISG. 

Was this interesting? Try: Bridge specialist Nusteel Structures sold to staff

If you have a tip or story idea that fits with our publication, please contact the news reporter/editor

The firm was appointed to the upgrade scheme by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), as part of a wider £3.8 billion estate modernisation programme.  

ISG will refurbish and return to use 300 single-person cells at the Category B men’s prison in the Winson Green area of the city. 

It is understood to be the firm’s “largest refurbishment project to date”. 

ISG is also one of four project partners on the MoJ’s £1 billion New Prisons Programme Alliance to deliver four new adult male prisons across the UK. 

The contractor has also been appointed to the MoJ’s five-year, £2.5 billion Constructor Services Framework, providing access to national and regional projects valued up to £30 million. 

“The MoJ continues to be one of our most innovative and progressive customers across a range of measures – from procurement approaches, modern methods of construction (MMC) adoption and as an environmental, social and governance (ESG) trailblazer,” said Alister McNeil, sector director for justice, ISG. 

Was this interesting? Try: Bridge specialist Nusteel Structures sold to staff

If you have a tip or story idea that fits with our publication, please contact the news reporter/editor