All Articles

With a pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes, the Labour government is moving to "oil the wheels" of the planning system. But can planning reform alone solve the deep-rooted imbalance between rising build costs and the need for affordable housing?.

Victoria Yeandle, a Chartered Town Planner, explores the paradox between the government's ambitious 1.5 million homes target and the disruption caused by local government reorganisation. While long-term benefits like pooled resources are possible, the short-term reality is that merging councils may abandon local plans and destabilise decision-making, likely delaying rather than expediting the planning process.