There has been a significant decline in the number of new residential property schemes granted planning consent, according to the latest figures from the Home Builders Federation (HBF).

The Housing Pipeline Report shows that in Q3 planning permission levels dropped 2% quarter-on-quarter to 2,778. The number of projects given the green light was also down by 18% when comparing the first nine months of 2023 to last year. There was also a fall in the second quarter.

In total, there were 61,221 housing units approved in Q3 2023, and in the first nine months of 2023, consent was granted for 198,121 new homes.

There were 76 social housing projects with three or more units approved in Q3, which was a 16% fall on Q2 and a 44% decline on Q3 2022.

Regionally, unit approvals in Q3 in the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber and Scotland rose in the double digits compared to Q2 by 23%, 35% and 31% respectively. However, significant falls in unit approvals were recorded in the North East, East of England, London and Wales with declines of 70%, 31%, 41% and 30%, respectively.

England’s new housing supply next year is now heading for nine-year low, with the data from HBF showing that the number of sites granted planning permission in England this year was at the lowest level since the report began in 2006.