New figures from the government’s Office of National Statistics show just how difficult it has been to get new homes built in the teeth of the recession and the slow recovery.
The ONS has published figures showing the net increase the number of new homes in every district or borough across England every year since 2001/2.
This shows that some districts in Suffolk – Babergh, Mid Suffolk and Waveney – have seen no real recovery in homebuilding since the recession.
Meanwhile in Essex, the number of new homes built in Colchester has motored ahead – apart from a small blip in 2007/8 – although in Tendring the picture is more mixed.
The figures for Ipswich are particularly spectacular. The numbers increased from 400 additional homes in 2001/2 to nearly 1,500 in 2007/8 before crashing five years later.
Between 2006 and 2009 more than 3,500 homes were added to the town’s housing stock as The Mill and Regatta Quay developments took shape on the Waterfront.
The numbers crashed the following year as the developers of both of these flagship schemes were placed into administration.
The 100 increase in Ipswich in 2012/13 was the lowest in an Suffolk district in any year covered by these figures.
The sluggish increase in the number new homes is reflected in other figures from the ONS which show that house prices in the region rose more than anywhere else in the country in the year ending in September.
House prices rose by 12.1% – in London the figure was 10.9%.
South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge is chair of the all-party housing and planning group at Westminster.
He said: “From a Suffolk-wide perspective these figures illustrate the way the market boomed up to 2008 and then crashed very sharply, recovering steadily in the last few years.
“I would not read too much into the most recent statistics, particularly in Babergh, because I think that what matters is the future pipeline and the most important point is that the district has an approved Local Plan.
“A valid Local Plan confirms that a District is in a position to deliver the right amount of homes for the circumstances of its locality in the coming years.
“That is what matters to constituents, knowing that we will build more homes to help young families in particular, but in a way that is sustainable and ideally supported by appropriate infrastructure.”
In Ipswich the number of new homes on the drawing board is starting to increase. There is the prospect of thousands of new homes on the northern fringe, in what is now officially called the Ipswich Garden Suburb, and work is due to restart on the wine rack in the new year.
Council leader David Ellesmere said he was anxious to see major new schemes get under way: “Although housebuilding in Ipswich has picked up since the recession it’s still some way off what it needs to be.
“That is why we’re currently seeing house price rises in Ipswich amongst the highest in the country. This is putting owning a house even further out of reach of many would-be buyers.
“We know that there are a number of schemes in the pipeline such as Fire and Ice, the former Archant offices, the Wine Rack and Ipswich Borough Council’s scheme for the Tooks site.
“But to get a real step change in housebuilding we need to see development start on North Ipswich.”
Published by the East Anglian Daily Times.