Planning applications in England have fallen to their lowest level on record.
According to figures published this week by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, local authorities received fewer applications to build new buildings or improve old ones in 2022 than at any point since before 2006, the earliest year for which the government provides statistics.
Local authorities received 409,459 planning applications in 2022, down nearly 14% on the previous year.
The number of applications granted has also fallen, dropping 11% on 2021.
The figures were released along with more than 150 other documents towards the end of last week, just before parliament’s Easter recess.
A recent study by the Home Builders Federation predicted England’s housebuilding levels would soon fall to their lowest level since the Second World War.
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