Persimmon leaps despite delays on planning go-aheads

Gaining planning approval for new homes remains “as challenging as ever”, housebuilder Persimmon warned on Wednesday in a shot across the bows of the Government.

The blue-chip builder’s comments come a fortnight ahead of a Budget in which Chancellor Philip Hammond is under pressure to come up with plans to boost housing supply.

February’s White Paper to fix a “broken” housing market included measures such as “quicker and more effective processing and determination of planning applications”.

But Persimmon has seen little evidence of that so far, saying that achieving detailed planning consent for land identified under local plans “is proving as challenging as ever”, according to chief executive Jeff Fairburn.

Persimmon has, however, booked £909 million in sales for next year, 10% ahead of this point last year, while pricing remains “firm”. But the shares fell 78p to 2796p, or 3%.