Figures published by Reading Borough Council reveal planning permission has been given for 4,371 homes which have yet to be built.

And the figure includes 395 affordable properties.

The numbers were revealed in the council’s Residential Planning Commitments document, which lists all sites with planning permission and their status in terms of construction.

The 2024/25 version shows figures to March 31, 2025 showed out of a rolling total of 5,530 homes which had gained the necessary planning approvals, in the borough, construction had started on just 1,159 homes, just over 20 per cent.

Cllr Micky Leng, lead councillor for planning, said: “At a time when there is a desperate need for new housing in the town, it sounds almost implausible that there should be 4,371 potential new homes with full planning permission just waiting to be built out by developers, but that is the reality of what we are facing in Reading.

“That figure includes nearly 400 affordable homes which, if completed, would have a significant impact for many residents who are understandably struggling to afford housing on the open market.”

“There can be several reasons for developers not building out sites they have permissions for. We know, for example, many of the potential new homes in Reading are larger flatted developments, which means developers will often focus attention on individual housing developments which can be freed up more quickly.

“But there is no doubt that after acquiring planning permission many developers are just waiting on these sites hoping to improve their profit margins, which helps nobody.

“The nature of new housing developments in a tight knit urban town like Reading means we often see peaks and troughs in the numbers, as and when large scale flatted developments come to fruition.

“That doesn’t change the fact that the number of new homes with planning permission where work has not yet begun is significantly higher than the 10-year average in Reading.”

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