Fall in number of new houses being built in Mansfield and Ashfield

The number of new houses being completed in Mansfield and Ashfield has dropped, new figures reveal.
Less new houses are being built in Mansfield and AshfieldLess new houses are being built in Mansfield and Ashfield
Less new houses are being built in Mansfield and Ashfield

This bucks the trend for England, where home completions were at their highest level for a decade during the nine months to September 2018.

In Mansfield, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government data shows that 150 houses were completed during the period, down from 160 the previous year, while in Ashfield, 180 houses were completed during the same period, down from 250 the previous year.

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The data only includes new houses and doesn't take into account conversions of houses into flats or changes of use from office to dwelling.

Less new houses are being built in Mansfield and AshfieldLess new houses are being built in Mansfield and Ashfield
Less new houses are being built in Mansfield and Ashfield

In Mansfield, private developers funded 87 per cent of all new homes, while the figure was 94 per cent in Ashfield.

Housing associations paid for the rest.

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said the Government needed to increase its efforts to meet its target of 300,000 new homes a year.

She said: “The fact housebuilding rates have picked up since the start of the decade is a welcome sign, but the Government still needs to make giant strides.

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"To achieve this, it simply cannot rely on private developers alone – building social homes must be top of the agenda."

Alongside completed properties, building started on a further 230 homes in Mansfield and 190 in Ashfield between January and September last year.

Nationally, new homes completions are on the rise, with 116,670 built and 130,010 started in the period.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, put the nationwide rising number of home completions down to the Government improving conditions for house builders.

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He said: "Successive Governments have helped create a much more positive policy environment, that has allowed the industry to invest with confidence in the people and land needed to build more homes.

"All indicators suggest we will see further increases in output and planning permission for new homes.

"Unlike the second-hand market, new home sales have generally remained resilient to the ongoing uncertainty, but clearly demand for new homes is reliant on a level of economic stability."

Nationally house building has mostly decreased since the 1960s. The early part of this decade saw house building at its lowest peacetime level since the 1920s.

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Martyn Saxton, director of place and wellbeing at Mansfield Council, said: “It is acknowledged that the number of dwellings completed between March 2017 and April 2018 actually reduced to 237 dwellings from 373 in 2016-17.

"However, on average over the last five years a total of 311 new homes have been built each year against a housing target of 279 new homes per annum.

“At October 2018 there were 3,812 new homes with planning permission which includes the 1,700 new homes at Berry Hill that is currently under construction.

"The Mansfield Local Plan has now been submitted to the Secretary of State for examination and identifies sites to accommodate a further 3,015 new homes.

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“In order to support house building within the district, a Developer Forum and Growth Delivery Group has been established which gives developers the opportunity to come along and discuss issues facing them with developing within the district.

"There is the opportunity then to work closely with the council and other partners including Nottinghamshire County Council, D2N2 LEP and Homes England to support the industry in delivering housing sites within the district.”