The UK Planning System: Where Are We Now?

Over the last number of years, planning permissions and application decisions particularly in England have been showing worrying signs: approvals are down to levels not seen in over a decade, while delays and backlogs are increasing. Successive governments, with their pledges to build 1.5m new homes to provide for a growing population, has floated various scenarios to speed up decision‐making, especially for housing and infrastructure; unfortunately many of the system’s bottlenecks remain. According to notable sources:

• Housing permissions at a low point: In 2024, about 242,610 homes received planning permission — the lowest since around 2014. (The Planner)

• In Q1 2025, the approvals dropped sharply: only 39,170 units approved — a 55% drop from the previous quarter, and about 32% lower than the same period in 2024. (Financial Times)

What’s Causing the Delays & Low Approvals

It’s not just one factor but a combination of major and minor factors that are having a significant impact on the planning process:

1. Staffing shortages/capacity constraints

   Many local planning departments are undermanned. Vacancies are widespread; many councils are using agency staff but that’s expensive and inconsistent. (The Planner) For example, in Somerset, the council reports circa 2,300 planning applications in their pipeline, partly due to key officers leaving. (BBC)

2. Regulatory/environmental constraints

   Environmental requirements—especially recent rules for nutrient neutrality and phosphates—are causing delays, sometimes significant cost burdens for developers. Again, taking Somerset as the example, “phosphate mitigation” costs are pushing up costs (one site for 200 homes would have a £1 million phosphate mitigation cost). (BBC)

3. Legal challenges/statutory consultees

   When it comes to large scale infrastructure projects, legal wrangling and challenges from interested bodies often leads to prolonged consultation processes and ultimately, delays. The government pledged at the beginning of the year to limit the number of legal challenges opposition groups could bring. (Reuters)

4. Slow or outdated processes

   Some of the delays come from sluggish internal processes—validation, discharge of conditions, negotiating Section 106 agreements (developer contributions), pre‐commencement conditions, etc. (HBF)

5. Declining throughput/fewer permissions in the pipeline

   With fewer permissions being granted, the “housing pipeline” (i.e. approved but not yet built) is shrinking. That raises concerns about future supply and whether demand will be met. (The Planner)

6. Resource & budget cuts/local plan delays

   Many local authorities have had budgets squeezed; like all local government departments, planning services have experienced cuts. Also, many councils do not have up-to-date local plans or have been slow to adopt revised plans, which introduces uncertainty and slows approvals. (secnewgate.co.uk)

7. Market/economic factors

   Rising costs, inflation, interest rates, and uncertainty in the housing market are making developers more cautious. Some applications may be less viable, delayed until conditions improve or even held back until the gridlock with the planning system shifts. While this is less directly about the planning system it points to behavioural trends amongst developers.

   
   

England: Regional Nuances & Variations

The problems are not uniformly felt. Different parts of England (and indeed the UK) are experiencing different rates of decline, different burdens, and different pressures.

Region	Relative severity of decline/delay	Key local issues
London	Declines also significant; e.g. London saw a fall of approx. 14% in approvals. (The Planner)	Land values very high → more contested planning; denser development; more complex environmental /heritage constraints; political sensitivity; high cost of mitigation.
East Midlands/West Midlands	Both saw substantial drops (e.g. East Midlands ~16%) in planning permissions. (The Planner)	Probably less staffing resource, weaker infrastructure capacity, more rural issues in some areas (e.g. connectivity, environmental protections).
North West	One of the few regions where approvals increased in a recent period. (The Planner)	Potentially more areas with lower constraints; maybe more scope for brownfield or less contested land; but that doesn’t necessarily mean the pipeline is healthy.
South West/South East	These areas tend to have higher environmental constraints (like protected landscapes), high local resistance, more expensive mitigation (flood risk, nutrient issues), plus pressure from growth/commuting etc.	Somerset is a good case study: local phosphate issues, staffing shortages, backlog. (BBC)

Outside of England, the picture in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is somewhat different because of the variations in planning systems, devolved governments, and other environmental and local governance arrangements. Many of the same issues (staffing, environmental regulation, local plan delays) seem to be having an adverse effect.

Recent Policy Reforms & Government Action

So, what reforms have the government implemented to try to alleviate these issue? With the delays being seen as a serious bottleneck for meeting housing, infrastructure, climate and decarbonisation goals, measures taken include:

• Commitments to recruit additional planning officers. For example, the government has pledged 300 more planning officers (though stakeholders argue that this is far short of what’s needed, with estimates of a shortfall of circa 2,200 across England & Wales. (HBF)

• Environmental planning reforms. The “Plan for Change” announced (August 2025) proposes rewiring parts of environmental planning, backed by approximately £500 million to help streamline processing of environmental aspects in planning. (GOV.UK)

• Planning & Infrastructure Bill (and associated reforms) aiming to cut statutory consultation periods for major infrastructure, reduce time of environmental assessment, and make some statutory consultees less of a drag. (GOV.UK)

• Measures to reduce legal challenges/limit repeat challenges or frivolous ones. The legal framework is being adjusted so that weaker/“totally without merit” challenges may be limited; simplification of appeal rights in some contexts. (Reuters)

  
  

Challenges & Risks

Even with reforms, there are several risks that may continue to cause delays or prevent recovery in approvals.

• Recruitment & retention of qualified planners remains hard—salary competition with private sector, retirement, skills pipeline issues (apprenticeships etc.). (The Planner)

• Environmental constraints are increasingly pressing - Net Zero anyone! Nutrient pollution, flood risks, habitats protections. These are non‐negotiable in many cases and often require technical work, mitigation strategies, sometimes new infrastructure. These add cost and time. We have heard of developments of a substantial number of homes grinding to a halt due to the zeal of an environment officer, without reference to the 'bigger picture'.

• Political & community resistance (NIMBYism) still plays a role, especially in densely populated or affluent areas. These influence local plan adoption, consultation delays, appeals.

• Infrastructure/connectivity constraints (roads, sewage, water supply, electrical grids that perhaps haven't been upgraded in some time) can delay developments even after planning permission, or impose heavy cost burdens.

• Economic environment: inflation, rising build costs, mortgage rates, supply chain issues. Even when permissions are granted, depending on the length of time taken on the process, circumstances can have changed so much to make a project no longer viable.

Outlook: What Needs to Happen

To reverse the current decline and meet housing & infrastructure goals, some or all of the following will be crucial:

1. Significant investment in planning capacity — more officers, better pay, more training, apprenticeship/pipeline work.

2. Faster, clearer environmental regulation/mitigation pathways — tools & guidance to deal with things like nutrient neutrality, phosphates, flooding etc must be streamlined, predictable, and not constantly changing.

3. Legal & consultation reform — striking balance between democratic accountability/environmental protection and avoiding unnecessary delay. Limiting unnecessary legal challenges, tightening up statutory consultation times etc.

4. Local plans in place and up to date — councils need to adopt, update, and follow local plans. Without local plan certainty, developers face risk, which slows applications.

5. Better funding & resource for LPAs — both people and systems (digital tools, process improvements) require funding.

6. Regional differentiation — what works in London or the South East may not work in more rural or post‐industrial regions. Tailored solutions (e.g. different environmental constraints, infrastructure capacity) for each region.

7. Transparency & predictability for developers — ensuring fees, conditions, expectations etc., are clear up front; minimising surprises in the process.

Conclusion

It is not shocking to say the UK planning system is under strain. Approvals have dropped, delays are increasing, and capacity is stretched. Many of the causes are clear and apparent — staff shortages, environmental regulation, funding constraints, legal/procedural complexity. However, government reforms are underway, but may take time to feed down to where they are most required.

If nothing changes, there is a risk that housing supply will lag further behind demand. This will impact government targets for their 1.5million new homes even more, prices will rise, and big infrastructure projects (transport, energy) will also be delayed. However, with targeted reform, investment, and regional tailoring, there is a path to recovery: that it requires urgency, expediency and focus goes without saying.

---

If you wish to speak to someone about planning, property development, funding or other UK property strategies, then please get in touch. You can book a 30min FREE call with one of our experts - click the link below:

Book a FREE Property Funding Call

30min

Book Now