Planning permissions for new homes in England fell to 42,000 units in Q3 2025, down 31% year-on-year and the lowest quarterly total in over 15 years, with only 1,311 projects approved between June and September, the 11th consecutive quarterly decline. Over the 12 months to September 2025, approvals dropped to 209,781 homes across 7,500 projects, 38% below the early‑2022 peak and just 36% of 2018 site numbers. London is hardest hit, with units approved down 49% on Q2 and 72% on Q3 2024, totalling fewer than 34,000 units and 910 projects.

Vp, the specialist equipment rental group whose divisions include Groundforce and UK Forks, has appointed Mitie Communities managing director Alice Woodwark as chief executive from 1 February 2025, succeeding Anna Bielby after a short handover. Woodwark brings a facilities management and services background rather than construction plant hire, having led Mitie Communities since 2021 and previously spent nine years in senior roles at Compass Group following McKinsey, Oxford PPE and Stanford MBA training. She will also continue as an independent non-executive director at Vistry Group, sitting on its nomination, remuneration and audit committees.

Homes England has appointed five executive regional directors – Danielle Gillespie (northwest), Tom Bridges (northeast, Yorkshire and Humber), Jo Nugent (Midlands), Vicky Savage (London and east) and Kate McBride (south) – ahead of a new regional operating model starting in April 2026. The directors, expected to take up post from March 2026, will own regional development pipelines and sub‑regional programmes, spanning large-scale placemaking, growth partnerships and affordable housing schemes. Delivery teams will be backed by a nationally managed technical office and access to the National Housing Bank to align land and investment with local priorities.