Reforming the planning system will not, by itself, deliver the homes the UK needs, according to a new position paper from Propertymark that warns ministers risk oversimplifying the housing crisis.
In its report, Meeting UK house demand, moving beyond the planning system, the industry body argues that an overemphasis on planning reform ignores deeper structural barriers to housebuilding.
While governments across the UK have placed planning changes at the heart of their housing strategies, Propertymark says the evidence shows this approach has failed to translate permissions into completed homes.
The paper highlights that hundreds of thousands of homes already have planning consent but remain unbuilt.
DEMAND SHORTFALL
Over the past 25 years, the UK has averaged around 180,000 new homes a year, well below what is required to meet demand and far short of the government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million homes over the current parliamentary term.
Although planning approvals have become faster in recent years, the gap between permissions granted and homes delivered has continued to widen.
In some years, fewer than half of approved schemes progressed to construction, suggesting planning is not the principal constraint on supply.
THREE BODY PROBLEM
Propertymark identifies three core problems: the diminished role of local authorities in direct housebuilding; the lack of effective incentives to ensure developers build out approved sites; and acute skills shortages and weak productivity in the construction sector.
The report also cautions against an overreliance on large-scale developments, arguing that smaller sites, often delivered by small and medium-sized builders, can be built more quickly but are frequently overlooked.
BUILD MORE HOMES
Timothy Douglas (main picture, inset), Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “There is no doubt that the planning system needs reform, but it is not the sole reason the UK is failing to build enough homes.”
Propertymark is urging a more balanced housing strategy, including greater support for council-led development, incentives for smaller builders, coordinated infrastructure delivery and a national construction skills drive.
