UK building boom forecast as planning application approvals surge
The UK looks set for a building boom, having seen the highest level of planning applications granted in recent months, according to research by debt advisory specialists Sirius Property Finance.
The company analysed figures on the average monthly total planning applications submitted across each region of the UK, the average success rate of these applications and the total number of applications granted.
It found almost 24,500 planning applications are made on average each month across the UK, with just over 20,500 (84 per cent) of those being successful.
Northern Ireland had the highest average monthly approval rate for planning applications approved, with 95 per cent of all applications given the green light each month, followed by North East England at 92 per cent and Wales at 87 per cent.
However, these regions are have some of the lowest average monthly totals of planning permission submitted, accounting for 0.5 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 3.8 per cent of successful planning applications respectively.
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South East England looks set for the biggest building boom in 2023 so far, with 4,491 planning applications made on average each month. While just 84 per cent of these applications are successful, this equates to 3,772 successful applications each and every month, 18.4 per cent of the UK total.
At just 75 per cent, London is home to the lowest percentage of successful planning applications across the UK. But despite this, the 3,444 successful bids seen across the capital on a monthly basis account for 16.8 per cent of the national total.
The East of England (12.7 per cent), South West (10.4 per cent) and North West (8.3 per cent) also account for some of the highest levels of successful planning applications made each month across the UK.
“Despite the economic uncertainty that came during the closing stages of 2022, we’ve continued to see a high level of market activity when it comes to the financing of both commercial and residential developments across the UK,” said Sirius Property Finance managing director Nicholas Christofi.
“What’s perhaps more telling is the higher propensity of these developments in higher value regions such as the South East and London, which suggest that a robust level of confidence remains in the market and that any fears of a property price downturn are largely behind us.
“More encouraging still, is the fact that the majority of applications made are getting approval and this bodes very well for the health of the market moving forward, both in terms of ability to actually build, as well as the delivery of this stock to avoid any future periods of market stagnation.”
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