New Housing Secretary meets key industry members
The new Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, and Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook – who survived the recent Government reshuffle – met with key housing industry leaders this week, with Reed pledging to “double down” on plans for housebuilding.
Developers including Barratt Redrow, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey discussed planning reforms and barriers to housebuilding, following which Reed issued a ‘call to arms’ to ‘build, baby, build’, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
He said: “We are doubling down on our plans to unleash one of the biggest eras of building in our country’s history and we are backing the builders all the way.
“Through major planning reform and investment, we will break down the barriers to development and build the 1.5 million homes this country needs as part of our Plan for Change.”
Planning permissions hit new lows
New home planning permissions in England fell by -17% to their lowest level since 2012, with the number of sites achieving consent dropping to the lowest on record, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF).
The HBF’s latest Housing Pipeline Report, based on data from Glenigan, shows that during the second quarter of 2025 only 44,520 new homes were granted planning permission. In contrast, there were 53,806 permissions granted in Q2 2024.
Meanwhile, only 1,410 sites were approved during Q2 2025 in England, marking the tenth successive quarter of decline.
The new figures show the huge challenge the Government faces to achieve its housing targets with a range of indicators all showing that housing supply levels are flatlining at best at around 200,000 homes a year, well short of the number needed to get to the much vaunted 1.5 million homes target for this parliament.
Home Builders Federation
ONS shows marginal growth in July
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed a 0.2% growth in construction output across Great Britain in July.
The increase came solely from new work, which rose by 0.3%, with construction outperforming the wider economy, which showed no growth in July.
Developer and supply chain updates
Vistry’s half-year performance was in line with expectations, it announced this week, with profit and completions down.
During the six months to 30 June 2025, Vistry’s adjusted revenue fell by -6% to £1.8bn, with profit falling to £80.6m. Full-year guidance remained unchanged.
Earlier in the week, the firm announced a joint venture with Homes England to accelerate the development of large sites.
The new vehicle, called Hestia, will concentrate on the delivery of mixed-tenure communities.
–
Miller Homes has recorded an increase in profit and revenue, in the firm’s first financial year since it purchased St Modwen Homes.
The developer posted an increase in revenue during the six months to 30 June from £457m to £586m.
Housing View 