INDUSTRY UPDATE NEWS
H ousing data suggests the government’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes in England this parliament is slipping further out of reach — a concern for SME builders grappling with soft demand and stalled sites. Official figures showed 208,600 net additional dwellings were created in 2024/25, a 6% drop from the previous year. That number combined 190,600 new-build completions with homes created through change of use and conversions, minus demolitions. Since the start of the parliament in July 2024, an estimated 275,600 net additions had been delivered, with only 124,800 of those coming in the first eight months of the current financial year. On present trends, England appears headed for roughly 204,000 homes in 2025/26. David Crosthwaite, Chief Economist at the Building Cost Information Service, said the figures “underlined the scale of the challenge”, noting that net additions had fallen for the third year running. “On the current trajectory, we are looking at something closer to one million homes over the parliament,” he warned, adding that delivery was unlikely to accelerate. For smaller developers, the slowdown raised fears of a tightening
Housing targets are out of reach
Communities and Local Government Committee, urged ministers to publish the long-awaited long-term housing strategy. She said the government needed “practical reforms” to ramp up delivery and called on the Chancellor to use the upcoming Budget to support councils and to boost the new towns programme.
pipeline just as government rhetoric pushed for expansion. Crosthwaite said the widening gap was “becoming increasingly self-inflicted”, arguing that demand needed to pick up sharply if the target was to remain viable. Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the House of Commons Backbench Housing,
Green light for station-side builds
S mall and medium- the government said housing schemes near well-connected train or tram stations in England would be given an automatic “yes” in the planning system. The Ministry of Housing confirmed that any residential sized builders reacted with a mix of surprise and optimism after
get Britain building and that’s exactly what we are doing. But it has to be the right homes in the right places and nearby transport links are a vital part of that.” Scrapping requirements Ministers also planned to speed up called-in applications by scrapping mandatory inquiry
development near a station would be approved by default, with minimum density standards also set to apply. Councils will be required to notify the government before rejecting schemes of 150 homes and up – speeding up the housing secretary’s route to overrule refusals. Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “I promised we’d
requirements where written representations would suffice. This initiative, which builds on momentum following the launch of Platform4 – a merger of Network Rail Property and London & Continental Railways – has set a target to develop 40,000 homes on brownfield land near railway stations over the next 10 years.
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