More than a decade of sustained cuts, combined with increased policy and legislative complexity, have left Wales' planning system struggling to cope, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Cymru says.
Despite a small improvement since 2022, real-term funding for local authority planning departments in Wales has fallen by 43% between 2009 and 2024, the organisation said. It added that the Welsh Government’s own Planning Division has been similarly affected, shrinking in size from 60 planners in 2015 to 33 planners in 2024.
RTPI Cymru’s research provides an evidence base to inform urgently needed changes so that Wales’s planning system can deliver to its full potential, it said.
It added that a “properly resourced planning system is the Government’s key mechanism for creating healthy, inclusive, economically and environmentally sustainable places”.
New research from RTPI Cymru identifies current funding and resource gaps and challenges, considers future workforce planning requirements and skills, and, where possible, suggests potential solutions that could ease resourcing and capacity pressures to support the delivery of an effective and responsive planning service in Wales.
The Welsh Government has acknowledged the scale of the resourcing challenge, RTPI Cymru said. In June 2025, it announced a £9 million investment in PEDW, NRW and the WG Planning Division. In December, it increased planning fees to move towards full cost recovery and funding has been provided to cover the cost for graduates to obtain a postgraduate qualification, increasing the pipeline of planners via the Pathways to Planning scheme.
However, the RTPI’s latest resourcing report warns that a decade of cuts has left planning services with depleted skills, low morale, and limited capacity to respond effectively. Without ringfencing, there is a significant risk that increased planning fees will be absorbed into wider local authority budgets rather than reinvested directly into planning as intended, it says.
The report shows that pressures remain acute across the system. 73% of LPAs are operating with one or more unfilled vacancies, while 100% report they are stuck in ‘firefighting’ mode, focused on managing immediate pressures rather than delivering long-term improvements.
The research shows a short-term need for 161 planners, 15 specialist officers and five business support officers. RTPI Cymru says this is simply to address known LPA vacancies (as of May 2025), to resource emerging Strategic Development Plans and to mitigate the imminent retirement of 95 planners aged 55+. This does not allow for reversing the deep and unsustainable cuts from over a decade of austerity, it added.
Taking a medium term view, 42% of the public sector planning workforce is expected to retire within the next ten to 20 years.
RTPI Cymru makes seven recommendations, including the establishment of a national Planning Improvement Service, a comprehensive workforce recruitment and retention strategy to secure the future of planning in Wales and exploring different service delivery footprints for specialisms.
Mark Hand, Director of RTPI Cymru, said:
“It is encouraging to see renewed investment in planning after years of decline, but this report makes clear that the system remains under severe strain and significantly more investment is needed.
“After more than a decade of underfunding, planners are still being forced to firefight rather than plan proactively for Wales’s future. If we are serious about delivering homes, infrastructure and sustainable places, sustained additional funding is essential, backed by a coordinated national approach to rebuilding skills and capacity.”
The Welsh Government said:
“The report provides the most comprehensive assessment of planning capacity and resilience in more than a decade. The findings are important for government, business and communities who depend on an effective planning system. It confirms that Wales does not currently have enough planners and associated specialists to provide an efficient and effective planning service in every case.
“This situation is not unique to Wales with similar challenges being faced across the UK. We welcome the report and successful implementation of the recommendations will require concerted and collaborative action across the public sector, professional bodies, and academic institutions.”
