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4 responses from the Newspage community

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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
Lower planning applications are unsurprising given the rapid transition to a high-interest rate environment over the past year. Residents and developers alike have paused works, waiting for cheaper build, material and finance costs. Some of these inflationary pressures are now abating, but falling house prices are also a concern.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
This is interesting data as you can read it in one of two ways. Either it is freeing up the departments due to the changes and relaxation introduced regarding permitted developments, or developers are holding back on projects due to raw material costs and the difficulty finding skilled workers in the current climate. Materials have increased significantly so this could be a key factor in the reduced numbers.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
Residents have been worn down by councils knocking back applications for spurious reasons. The Tories have let down Britain when it comes to housing and have made it easy for objectors to block developments even when they are palpably in the interests of the local community. I expect a sharp rebound in applications next summer after the General Election.
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Gary Bush
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
The data on homeowner and builder/developer Planning Applications July to September 2023 doesn't surprise us when taking into effect the mortgage rate market this year - already stretched households have hunkered down to ride out the storm. The data does confirm that for the applications that have been received the level of approvals hasn't really changed and from our experience in working with our clients we have evidenced a quite flexible response from council planning departments of late. With the mortgage rate war continuing at steam towards the beginning of 2024 we expect to see an increase in planning applications for both householder improvements and new builds.