Public sector house building down 13 per cent
Applications to build homes from public sector bodies have fallen 13 per cent in the last year.
Figures from the National House Building Council show there were only 8,599 applications to build public sector homes across the UK in the three months to the end of September, compared with 9,827 in the same period of 2008.
Despite this, the overall number of applications increased 4 per cent, to 24,136, driven by the private sector. Here developers applied to build 15,557 homes, a 17 per cent rise on the 13,358 received last year.
There was a wide regional variation in applications, with the north east and north west being particularly strong (see table below).
NHBC chief executive Imtiaz Farookhi said: ‘It is reassuring that NHBC’s figures show consistent improvement and that these positive signs extend across the UK. The sector has weathered the traditionally slow summer period, but we must now see out the autumn and hope that this confidence extends to the end of the year.’
Regional breakdown of figures
| Region | July to September 2009 | July to September 2008 | Percentage Increase / (-) Decrease |
|---|---|---|---|
| England - Regions | |||
| North East | 858 | 344 | 149% |
| North West | 1,388 | 1,011 | 37% |
| Merseyside | 203 | 228 | -11% |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 1,204 | 1,283 | -6% |
| West Midlands | 1,341 | 1,548 | -13% |
| East Midlands | 1,885 | 1,813 | 4% |
| Eastern | 3,379 | 3,543 | -5% |
| South West | 2,820 | 2,612 | 8% |
| Greater London | 3,689 | 3,961 | -7% |
| South East | 3,912 | 3,896 | 0% |
| Totals for England | 20,679 | 20,239 | 2% |
| Scotland - Councils | 1,668 | 1,654 | 1% |
| Wales - Unitary Authorities | 745 | 607 | 23% |
| Northern Ireland - Counties | 950 | 611 | 55% |
| Isle of Man | 94 | 74 | 27% |
| Totals for UK | 24,136 | 23,185 | 4% |
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Readers' comments (1)
Chris Rasburn | 24/10/2009 8:07 am
Another andictment of New Labour's failure. If failure was an economic indicator, we'd be on top of the world.
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