Less than one in 20 housing permissions are left to lapse and not built out, according to a detailed analysis of schemes commissioned by housebuilder groups which they say debunks the idea that developers are “hoarding land” without building on it.

However, the “deep dive” study of four planning authorities, carried out by planning consultant Lichfields at the behest of the Land Promoters and Developers Federation (LPDF) and the Home Builders’ Federation (HBF), found that after five years less than half of the homes permissioned in the first year – 42.5% - had in fact been built out.

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