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Tony Mulhall, Senior Specialist at RICS, analyses the impact of government policy on SME housebuilders, who have seen their share of new homes decline significantly since the GFC. He argues that achieving the ambitious target of 1.5 million new homes by summer 2029 is jeopardized by two primary, persistent barriers: delays in securing planning permission and a lack of resources in local planning authorities. Mulhall suggests that greater certainty in planning expectations and

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.