Reduced planning activity could impact broker pipelines
Approvals for planning applications in England rose by 1% between April and June 2025, even as the total number of applications submitted fell by 5% and decisions made declined by 1% compared to the same period last year.
The data, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on Thursday, also showed that in the second quarter of the year, district-level planning authorities in England received 80,400 planning applications while the number of decisions made went down to 80,800.
However, the number of approvals granted increased to 70,800, representing 88% of all decisions—up two percentage points from the previous year. Authorities decided 91% of major applications within 13 weeks or within an agreed timeframe, a figure unchanged from last year. The proportion of major applications decided within the statutory 13-week period rose to 23%, a three-point increase.
According to the latest government figures, residential approvals fell by 8% to 7,000, while commercial development approvals declined by 7% to 1,500. In contrast, householder development applications decided rose by 4% to 44,000, making up 54% of all decisions, compared to 51% a year earlier.
For the year ending June 2025, authorities granted 266,400 decisions, down 5% year-on-year. Residential approvals over the same period dropped by 9% to 28,700.
The data suggests mortgage brokers may face a slower pipeline, as fewer planning approvals—especially for residential developments—could limit new housing supply. This may reduce the volume of new mortgage business and intensify competition for available clients, particularly as delays and uncertainty in the planning process persist. Brokers should monitor local development trends and adjust strategies accordingly.
“The new housing secretary, Steve Reed, last week called on the industry to ‘build baby build’, but even with this reported rise, the planning system remains a major hurdle,” said Neil Leitch, managing director of development finance at Hampshire Trust Bank. “Recent data from the Home Builders Federation showed approvals are at their lowest level in 13 years, which makes the government’s pledge to deliver a million homes this Parliament look increasingly unrealistic. Developers want to build, and lenders are ready to support them, but the delivery chain is simply not strong enough to turn ambition into delivery.
“The upcoming Budget is an opportunity to give housebuilding a genuine boost, not only by providing planning departments with greater resources but by attracting more skilled people into planning roles. Without that investment, the system will remain too slow and inconsistent to support the homes we need.
“We also need to be clear that today’s approvals are not tomorrow’s completions. Too many schemes stall between consent and delivery, and if that pipeline continues to thin out, the shortfall in housing output will only grow. Planning is not the only barrier developers face, but it is the one that unlocks everything else. For SME developers in particular, long delays and uncertainty can make schemes unviable before they even start.”
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