Government plans to build 300,000 homes a year has been branded an “empty target” by Propertymark.

The trade body says that a rise of only 6,190 new builds, to 220,600 between 2019 to 2020 means that the promised target of new homes built per year won’t be delivered until “at least” 2028.

Earlier this month, the Office for National Statistics released data showing that construction output sank to pre-pandemic levels in July, with new work in private housing falling 7.5% on a monthly basis.

Propertymark recently submitted its response to a Hose of Lords built environment committee consultation, title ‘Meeting the UK’s hosing demand’.

The findings will be published this winter.

Propertymark policy and campaigns officer Faye Greaves says: “The UK government has laid out an empty target which fails to account for what is needed across different tenures and therefore cannot accurately reflect housing demand.

“It is not just about numbers, we need a good balance of new homes where they are needed, including more social housing and homes for older people with incentives to downsize.

“The quality of new homes is also extremely important, and we welcome the New Homes Quality Board code of practice which will go some way to improving that.

“However, neither the construction nor the property industry is currently fully equipped to meet demand.

“We need to ensure the supply of new housing can be achieved, factoring in the current blockages in the planning system and the impact of Brexit and Covid on materials and the workforce in construction.”