According to the Home Builders Federation, local authorities approved an increasing number of residential planning applications in the last quarter of 2012.
Figures released by the HBF show that 51,000 residential units were approved across Great Britain during the fourth quarter of last year, an increase of 61% against the same period in 2011.
The private sector was the main driver of this increase, with 41,800 private unit residential approvals in Great Britain, representing a 43% rise on the preceding quarter and 61% on the same period a year before.