Abolition of housing targets leads to 20% fewer south west homes

House building targets are now 15% lower than the Government's projected household growth for the region which, added to the historic shortfall of new homes, will create huge pressure on local housing supply, the research said.

The reduction in the number of planned homes for the south west represents around 5,700 fewer homes being built each year which, over the 20 year period of the Regional Spatial Strategies, would mean a drop of over 115,000 new homes.

The number of homes that have been built in the south west over the past six years has fallen by around 35% and the number of planning permissions for new housing has fallen by a similar amount, the south west housing crisis report (23-Pages / 389 KB PDF) said.

Granted planning permissions are a "good indicator of future supply", the research said, so the drop in permissions, balanced against the Government projections that the number of households in the area is expected to increase by 23,000 annually, is likely to create a severe housing shortfall, it said.

"The South West is suffering from a serious under supply of housing. It is crucial that more homes are built, particularly for younger families and first time buyers," said Stewart Baseley, executive chairman at HBF. "It is concerning that local authorities in the area have reduced their housing targets by a fifth and important that they recognise the responsibility they have to communities in their region."

"On top of the obvious social benefits - increasing affordability and easing the pressure on social housing waiting lists - building the homes the area needs would create thousands of local jobs and bring in millions of pounds from central government," said Baseley.

Local authorities are also missing out on Government funding which they "clearly need", due to the absence of new homes being built, the report said.

"If enough homes in the south west are built to meet household projections the local authorities within it would see around £79 million of extra funding every year and more than 30,000 local jobs created," it said.

The Government's new incentive for house building, the New Homes Bonus, could see funding for the region increase significantly at a time when cuts are being made to budgets across most service areas, the report said.