THE gap between planning permissions for new homes and the number finally being built has reached a record new high – heaping more pressure on ministers against developers.

Councils authorised 313,700 new houses to go up last year.

But at the same time, just 183,570 were erected – a difference of 130,000, startling new figures reveal.

The huge shortfall is the biggest since records began in 2006, when the gap was 56,720.

The new figures come ahead of a long-awaited report by former minister Sir Oliver Letwin to be published by the Treasury on the day of the Budget next week into the landbanking – the practice by fat cat developers to sit on land with planning permission for its value to rise.

Theresa May pledged to make the housing crisis her top domestic priority as PM a year ago, but faces bitter criticism for doing too little to solve it.

The figures were exposed in new analysis conducted by Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey, who demanded action to enforce building work once permission is granted for it.

Calling on the Chancellor to act in his Budget on Monday, Mr Healey said: “The Chancellor must break big developers’ stranglehold over new homes and speed up housebuilding.

“This means giving councils the power to set tough new rules to ensure homes get built quickly.

“We need decisive action not more warm words from Ministers.”

The figures also reveal striking regional differences in the volumes of land being hoarded.

The North West has the lowest number, where just 44% of permissions for houses ended up getting built last year.

The highest completion percentage was in the East Midlands, which saw 74% go up.

The Ministry for Housing last night insisted the statistical gap is because the number of new homes given planning permission is also at its highest in a decade.

Action has seen the number of plots rise up by almost 50,000 from the previous year’s 264,700.

Ministers have set a new target of delivering 300,000 new homes a year to solve the crisis.