Updated November 2026 · Report
The UK Housing Pipeline: Q4 2026
How many new homes are moving through the UK planning system, built from the dwelling counts on applications SiteLens tracks across the public registers. Figures cover the last 12 months and count only applications where a dwelling count could be determined: a floor, not a complete national total. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Across the councils we track, 32,898 planning applications with a stated dwelling count put forward 593,439 homes over the last 12 months. Of these, 380,009 homes are still awaiting a decision, while 73,157 have been approved. Major schemes of 10 or more homes account for 3,534 of the applications. These figures are a floor, as they include only applications that state a dwelling count, and they describe the pipeline across the councils we track rather than a complete total.
The South East holds the largest share of homes in the tracked pipeline at 24.5 per cent, or 145,373 homes. The East of England follows with 17.4 per cent (103,548 homes), then the South West at 10 per cent (59,359 homes), the North West at 9.2 per cent (54,498 homes) and Greater London at 8.7 per cent (51,473 homes). These shares are of the tracked pipeline as a whole, not of each region's own total.
Homes in the pipeline vs approved
Of 593,439 homes across applications in the last 12 months, 380,009 are still in planning (awaiting a decision) and 73,157 have been approved and are heading towards site. The in-planning figure is the leading edge of demand: the schemes the supply chain can engage before they break ground. Counts come from 32,898 applications carrying a dwelling count.
Where the homes are
The regions with the most homes moving through planning over the last 12 months. A region’s share reflects both its size and how much residential development is in train there.
Homes in the pipeline by region, last 12 months (share of the total).
Councils with the most homes in the pipeline
The local planning authorities seeing the most new homes come through their registers, where residential activity is most concentrated right now.
| # | Council | Region | Homes | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medway Council | South East | 11,222 | 173 |
| 2 | Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council | South East | 9,906 | 114 |
| 3 | Swale Borough Council | South East | 9,876 | 148 |
| 4 | Maidstone Borough Council | South East | 9,789 | 185 |
| 5 | Cheshire East Council | North West | 9,679 | 246 |
| 6 | Bedford Borough Council | East of England | 9,560 | 105 |
| 7 | Basildon Council | East of England | 9,544 | 182 |
| 8 | Lichfield District Council | West Midlands | 8,969 | 108 |
| 9 | West Oxfordshire District Council | South East | 8,350 | 151 |
| 10 | Milton Keynes City Council | South East | 7,651 | 79 |
| 11 | Test Valley Borough Council | South East | 7,579 | 183 |
| 12 | South Cambridgeshire District Council | East of England | 7,284 | 116 |
Methodology
Homes are counted from the dwelling count on each application, taken from the application documents where SiteLens has extracted them, otherwise derived from the application description. Only applications carrying a usable count are included, so these are a floor, not a complete national total, and coverage expands as more registers and documents are processed. “In planning” means awaiting a decision. “Approved” means granted in the period. Implausibly large counts are excluded as likely data errors. Follow-on approvals of an already counted scheme may currently be counted again, so treat the total as an upper reading of the floor. For the wider picture (application volumes, approval rates and decision times) see the State of UK Planning report, or explore any authority on its SiteLens council page.
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