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Homes England housing starts plummet 38% during COVID-19 pandemic
Housebuilding starts funded through Homes England programmes have fallen to their lowest level in almost a decade because of coronavirus-related site closures in the first half of 2020/21.
Statistics released by the government’s housing delivery agency show that between 1 April 2020 and 30 September 2020 there were 11,313 new homes started on Homes England sites.
The figures represent a 38% fall on the same period last year and the lowest number of starts seen since 2012/13.
Completions were also hit, falling by 25% compared with the same period last year to 11,358, reflecting the lowest level of completions since 2015/16.
Among affordable housing tenures, 3,295 homes for affordable rent were started – a 38% decrease on the 5,340 in the same period last year.
A further 2,768 were for intermediate affordable housing, including shared ownership and rent to buy, representing a fall of 34%.
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Social rent starts also fell by 26% from 734 to 541.
Homes England noted that almost 1,900 sites were closed or delayed in late March when the government announced a lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, directly impacting on the completion of 240,000 new homes.
The agency said its delivery partners reported in March that between 60% and 100% of contractors were not able to access sites.
Nick Walkley, chief executive of Homes England, said: “As anticipated, COVID-19 had a significant impact on the construction industry in the first half of this year.
“By working with our strategic partners and the wider sector, we can ensure that the £7.5bn allocation Homes England received, along with the additional funding announced in the recent Spending Review, helps to stimulate the sector and ultimately give our delivery partners the confidence they need to invest in new homes.
“We are encouraged by the latest economic data showing that the construction sector is recovering and growing strongly, with housebuilding performing particularly well, and hope that the positive news on the development of several effective vaccines will aid further recovery.”
Homes started for market sale saw the biggest drop off at 56% compared with the first six months of 2019/20.
This marked fluctuation reflects the nature of the programmes “with different types and sizes of sites starting at different times with varying build-out rates”, Homes England said.
Ministers temporarily froze the housing market during the last wave, although moves into new homes were still permitted.
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