By Laura Potts, MRTPI, Planning Consultant, CAD Architects
On 25th May 2025, the UK government announced new proposals to speed up housebuilding. The proposals are designed to keep housebuilders on track to help deliver the 1.5 million new homes the government has promised will be built in this Parliament.
This is the very latest in a stream of new changes the government has introduced to the planning process over the last few months. Yet again, it shows how important it is that developers stay abreast of the latest planning developments, in the face of ongoing change. As one of the leading planning consultancies in the South West, we can help housebuilders and developers navigate all the new planning requirements.
Interestingly, the proposals come at a time that Planning applications submitted in England for residential developments are 44% up year-on-year, according to new figures from Consultancy Terraquest. They said 71,813 applications were submitted in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 49,776 in the same period last year. It is the largest first quarter total since 2022. The firm said the findings were based on its figures covering 95% of planning applications made in England.
This is a strong sign that England may well be about to enter a housebuilding boom.
The proposals this week from the UK government are intended to help ensure developers deliver on their commitments and that they do not leave sites half-finished for many years.
The government is publishing a Planning Reform Working Paper entitled ‘Speeding Up Build Out’. This is alongside publishing a technical consultation on requirements for transparency and accountability measures for build out rates on housing sites.
The technical consultation sets out proposals that feature new requirements for developers of 50 or more homes. This is in line with the findings in the recent National Planning Barometer 2025, where the second biggest challenge to housebuilding identified was the slow build-out of housing by developers, according to 58% of respondents (an increase of 18% on last year). You can read our article on the National Planning Barometer 2025 here.
For the first time, under the new government proposals, housebuilders will have to commit to delivery timeframes before they get planning permission.
Under the new rules, housebuilders will also have to submit annual reports showing their progress to councils to keep them on track.
Developers who consistently fail to build out consented sites and those who secure planning permissions simply to trade land speculatively could also face a ‘Delayed Homes Penalty’ paid directly to local planning authorities. This would be a last resort measure available for local authorities where a developer has agreed a build out schedule in their planning permission but falls materially (10% or more) behind it, without a good reason. This will require primary legislation and only apply to future planning permissions.
In addition, those deliberately sitting on vital land, without building the homes promised, could see their sites acquired by councils where there is a case in the public interest and stripped of future planning permissions. This is confirmation the government will implement a new power introduced by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 relating to the compulsory purchase of land.
The government is also testing a new requirement for large sites to be mixed tenure by default – helping to build more homes, including more affordable homes, faster.
These latest proposals build on the work already underway through the National Planning Policy Framework, including mandatory housing targets for councils, and the reforms to streamline the planning approval process included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
You can read the full working paper ‘Speeding up Build Out’ here:
If you would like guidance on the raft of new changes to planning in England, contact us at CAD Planning. We stay ahead of all the latest planning legislation, so you can rest assured your own development will go as smoothly as possible.
You can contact us on 01872 630040 or email info@cad-planning.co.uk.