Sign in Subscribe
Housing

North of England Requires Significant Investment to Meet Housing Demands and Reach Government's Target

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The North of England requires significant investment to meet its housing demands and reach the government's target of 370,000 homes per year. House-building in the North of England needs to see the greatest uplift compared with other regions to achieve the government's national target. However, historical figures on net additional dwellings suggest that the government is unlikely to meet its ambitious targets by 2030.

Key Takeaways:

  • The North of England needs to increase its house-building rate to meet the government's target of 370,000 new homes per year, with a 79.2% increase in the North East of England and 61.3% increase in the North West.
  • The new National Planning Policy Framework sets a national housebuilding target of just over 370,000 new homes per year and proposes reforms to the planning system to increase local housing requirements by 21.4%.
  • Historical figures on net additional dwellings suggest that the government has been unsuccessful in delivering a substantial number of new homes to the market across England, with the closest the UK came to achieving a goal of 300,000 net additional dwellings being in 2007/08.
  • The current government's aim to deliver 370,000 new homes a year is considered unrealistic, given the previous and consistent failings with respect to net additional dwellings growth.
  • Developer incentivisation, such as tax breaks, grants, or rebates, and improvements to help streamline the process, such as easing zoning regulations, are key to boosting housing delivery.
  • The removal or revision of existing intervention criteria is proposed to stop nimbyism (not in my backyard) halting projects and meet the government's national target.

Statistics:

  • The North East of England needs to see an increase of 79.2% in house-building, from 6,123 homes/year to 10,976 homes/year.
  • The North West of England needs to see an increase of 61.3% in house-building.
  • The South West, South East, and Yorkshire and the Humber regions also see significant increases in house-building requirements under the new National Planning Policy Framework.
  • The government set a target of 300,000 net additional dwellings by the mid-2020s but has consistently fallen short, with the closest achievement being in 2007/08.
  • The most recent figures show that additional net dwellings have actually fallen over the last two years, from 234,462 in 2021/22 to 221,071 in 2023/24.

Sources:

  • Government UK - Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system - December 2024.
  • Government UK - Live tables on housing supply: net additional dwellings (2006/07 to 2023/24)

Read more