The home building industry’s blueprint for the next Welsh government
In one month, the Welsh public will head to the polls to vote for their next government.
With housing and planning fully devolved to the Welsh government, the election presents a significant opportunity for home builders.
Private housing delivery in Wales is approaching an all-time low. Urgent intervention is needed to create a more favourable policy environment for home building.
The home building industry not only provides energy-efficient new homes, but also delivers affordable housing and invests in vital infrastructure for local communities, including schools, transport links, and open spaces.
The industry is calling for the next Welsh government to:
Deliver more homes
- Set a national all-tenure target for housing delivery.
- Support SME home builders with an urgent package of planning reforms.
- Inject additional funding into public bodies involved in the planning process.
- Issue standard templates for legal agreements, such as Section 106, to reduce inconsistencies and delays.
- Implement the recommendations of the Welsh government’s sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) review.
- Introduce a moratorium on new policy requirements and regulations that would further challenge viability.
Make the plan-led system work
- Ensure full coverage of up-to-date Local Development Plans (LDPs).
- Restore Technical Advice Notice 1 (TAN1), enabling sustainable, policy-compliant sites to come forward outside of the plan-led system.
- Shift to a stock-based approach for local assessments of housing need, addressing historic under-delivery.
- Ensure the four Strategic Development Plans (SDPs) are adopted before the end of the next Senedd term.
Support builders and buyers
- Develop a roadmap for establishing the talent pipeline needed to deliver low-carbon and energy-efficient new housing.
- Extend Help to Buy Wales beyond September 2026 to support first-time buyers.