Thousands of homes with permission in town unbuilt

It is "almost implausible" that nearly 4,400 homes that have planning permission are still not built in a Berkshire town, a senior councillor said.

Reading Borough Council said of the 5,500 homes it had given the go-ahead for up to by the end of March 2025, building on just over a fifth had started at the time.

Micky Leng, the council's lead councillor for planning, said there is a "desperate need for housing in the town".

The homes awaiting construction include nearly 400 affordable homes which Leng said "would have a significant impact for many residents who are understandably struggling to afford housing on the open market".

He said: "At a time when there is a desperate need for new housing in the town, it sounds almost implausible that there should be 4,371 potential new homes with full planning permission just waiting to be built out by developers, but that is the reality of what we are facing in Reading.

"There can be several reasons for developers not building out sites they have permissions for."

"We know, for example, many of the potential new homes in Reading are larger flatted developments, which means developers will often focus attention on individual housing developments which can be freed up more quickly," he added.

Leng claimed developers were acquiring planning permission and "just waiting on these sites hoping to improve their profit margins, which helps nobody".

The authority said it is on target to deliver 403 council homes at the end of 2025 through its new build programme.

They included developments at Lyndhurst Road, North Street and Arthur Hill.