In the year to December 2024, district level planning authorities granted 271,600 decisions which was down 7% from the previous year.

This included 30,200 residential applications being granted which were also down by 7%.

The data also shows local authorities are receiving fewer planning applications.

On a quarterly basis, between October and December 2024, local authorities received 79,000 applications for planning permission.

This sum was 7% lower than the same quarter in 2023.

Of this total, 64,900 applications were granted including 7,400 residential applications — however the latter was 10% lower than the same period of 2023.

Commercial applications also suffered, with only 1,500 granted or 13% lower than in the previous year.

Since being elected to power in July 2024, the Labour government has been actively reforming planning frameworks to accelerate housing delivery.

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This is part of the party’s manifesto pledge to deliver 1.5 million houses over the current parliament.

However, Hampshire Trust Bank managing director Neil Leitch said while the statistics were “disappointing” they were “not surprising”.

As such, he has argued more needs to be done for resource-strapped local authorities and with special recognition for the strain such planning delays put upon SME developers.

"Long delays in planning hit SMEs hardest - cash flow and timelines are critical at their scale, and they don’t have the luxury of sitting on sites indefinitely,” said Neil.

"Further investment in planning and efforts to improve efficiency are welcome, but real change will take time. Right now, the developers best placed to succeed are those who plan ahead - submitting well-prepared applications, engaging with planning officers early, and taking a proactive approach to navigating the system."