AUDIO NEWS: Planning permission for new homes drops by 31% and an electrician misses out on £180k prize

Planning permission for new homes drops to 15 year low, vans lag five years behind car security and an electrician misses out on £180,000 at World Darts Championship

Just 42,000 new homes were given planning permission in the third quarter of last year — that’s according to a report from the Home Builders Federation.

The figure was the lowest quarterly total in over 15 years, and 31% down on last year’s numbers.

In total only 1,300 projects were approved between June and September.

HBF blamed the decline on a lack of confidence among developers that buyers can be found for new homes.

Neil Jefferson, HBF chief executive said the data painted a “very worrying picture for future housing supply”.

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Vans are lagging three to five years behind cars in terms of security, claimed an industry expert.

Ian Curtis, vehicle risk assessment team leader with Thatcham Research also warned that criminal gangs were now buying vans and reverse engineering them, to figure out the best way to break in.

In an interview with What Van, Curtis also said that while most insurance policies currently do not cover the load space in a van, this could change by 2027.

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An electrician from Wrexham just missed out £180,000 at the World Darts Championship.

Curtis Griffiths was randomly selected from among 30,000 entrants to play Darts of Destiny ahead of the championship final last weekend.

The 27-year-old spark had to score 180 off nine darts to claim the cash prize but unfortunately managed just 89 points.

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