Housebuilding was highest during period of planning stability, new research shows
Housebuilding in England reached its highest levels during a period of planning policy stability, according to new research from Savills and Hallam Land, part of Henry Boot, which warns that years of policy change and uncertainty have contributed to a slowdown in housing delivery.
The report, Stability in Planning and Housebuilding, examines the relationship between planning policy and housing delivery over the past decade. It concludes that while inflation, borrowing costs, regulatory requirements and infrastructure constraints continue to affect development, policy certainty remains one of the most important factors in supporting long-term housing growth.
According to the research, the years following the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in 2012 saw a significant increase in Local Plan adoption, land supply and planning consents, helping to drive sustained growth in housing delivery. Between 2016 and 2020, the planning system consistently delivered more than 300,000 planning consents per year, while new home completions peaked at 245,600 homes in the year to March 2020.
However, the report highlights that since 2020, weaker market conditions have been compounded by repeated changes to planning policy and increasing complexity within the planning system. Issues including nutrient neutrality, changes to housing need calculations, evolving planning reforms and delays to Local Plan preparation have all contributed to falling land supply and a reduction in planning consents.
While the report welcomes recent planning reforms, including the restoration of mandatory housing targets, it argues that the focus should now be on allowing the current framework time to become established rather than introducing further changes. Planning applications are already beginning to recover, rising by 44% in the year to Q3 2025.
Emily Williams, director of Residential Research at Savills, said: “The planning debate often focuses on what needs to change next, but our analysis suggests the bigger issue is how frequently the system changes. The strongest period of housing delivery in recent years coincided with a prolonged period of policy stability, giving local authorities, developers and investors the confidence to make long-term decisions.
“Planning reform is important, but reforms need time to work – if policy is continually revisited before it has had a chance to bed in, the industry struggles to respond effectively.”
Paul Burton, executive director at Hallam Land, added: “The housing sector has faced no shortage of challenges in recent years, from inflation and higher borrowing costs to increasing regulatory requirements. However, one of the clearest findings from this research is that stability matters.
“The years of strongest housing delivery coincided with a period when the planning system provided greater certainty. When developers, local authorities and communities understand the framework they are working within, it becomes much easier to bring forward plans, allocate land and deliver new homes.
“The government has taken positive steps to address housing need through recent reforms. The industry now needs a sustained period of policy consistency to allow those reforms to take effect and help unlock the homes the country needs.”
The report concludes that although planning applications are beginning to increase, housing delivery remains constrained by viability pressures, infrastructure challenges and wider economic conditions. Against this backdrop, Hallam Land and Savills are calling for a sustained period of policy stability to enable recent planning reforms to take effect and support higher levels of housing delivery in the years ahead.
Read the Stability in Planning and Housebuilding Report here.