Government efforts to accelerate housebuilding risk being undermined by a growing shortage of local authority planners, with new research suggesting councils need more than 2,600 additional staff to operate at full capacity.
Planning departments across England and Wales are operating with around 80% of the staff they say they need, according to research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Paragon Bank.
The findings raise questions about whether local authorities have sufficient capacity to deliver an increasingly ambitious planning and housebuilding agenda as new requirements place additional demands on already stretched teams.
The Planning on Empty report, based on Freedom of Information requests to councils across England and Wales, found that 90% of local planning authorities are operating below full staffing capacity.
On average, councils employ fewer than 36 planning staff but estimate they require around 44 to operate at full strength.
The overall gap is also widening. Councils are estimated to need an additional 2,660 planners, up 20% from the 2,200 shortfall identified by the research last year.
The Government has committed to recruiting 1,400 additional planners during this Parliament and has announced almost £100 million of investment in planning capacity since 2024.
However, the HBF argues that the scale of the existing shortage means further investment will be required if planning reforms are to translate into faster housing delivery.
The challenge is particularly acute among planning officers and senior planners, which together account for almost half of vacancies within planning departments.
Average staff turnover is running at 11%, while more than half of councils are using agency workers to address gaps, increasing pressure on local authority budgets.
The capacity problem is already being reflected in the time taken to progress housing schemes.
Only around one in five major planning applications is determined within the statutory 13-week period, while separate HBF research found Section 106 agreements take an average of 515 days to complete.
Planning teams are simultaneously being asked to manage a more complex regulatory environment, including requirements such as Biodiversity Net Gain.
The latest National Planning Policy Framework also introduces greater expectations around housing delivery, strategic planning, viability and development around transport hubs.
The HBF warned that increasing expectations without addressing local authority capacity could limit the impact of reforms intended to speed up development.
Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive at Home Builders Federation, said:
“Planning reform will only succeed if local planning authorities have the staff and resources to deliver it. Our research shows planning departments are operating with significant staffing shortages, making it harder for councils to process applications efficiently.
“At the same time, planning teams are being asked to manage an increasing number of responsibilities, placing even greater pressure on already stretched departments and slowing the delivery of new homes.
“If the Government is to achieve its ambition of building 1.5 million homes, it must match planning reform with sustained investment in local planning authority capacity and skills.”
The consequences extend beyond individual housing developments. Councils have also identified staffing and resource constraints as barriers to effectively monitoring, allocating and spending Section 106 contributions intended to support infrastructure associated with development.
Neal Moy, Managing Director at Paragon Development Finance, said:
“Paragon sees first-hand the consequences of understaffed planning teams, with many of our customers experiencing prolonged delays and inconsistent decision-making.
“This has ramifications across the market and impacts the delivery of much-needed new homes. In some cases, we see applications from capable developers rejected, only to win consent on appeal months later, creating additional cost and delays.
“The Prime Minister has made clear he wants to achieve growth in every postcode. Housebuilding is a proven tool for economic growth and SME developers, who possess the local expertise, should be at the heart of delivery. To do that, we need to see Government invest in planning capacity.”
The Royal Town Planning Institute said the figures highlighted the longer-term impact of reduced investment in planning functions.
Simon Creer, Director of Communications and External Affairs at Royal Town Planning Institute, said:
“These findings demonstrate why the RTPI is a relentless advocate for greater resources to the planning system. Planning teams are under-staffed, under-resourced, and increasingly, under pressure to deliver.
“Planning policy as a function has been disproportionately affected by divestment, despite its vital role in coordinating local, strategic, and national priorities. Investment in planning policy capacity will be key to securing the Government's ambitions for locally led growth and devolution.
“While commitments to planners and funding in last year's Autumn Statement could help to alleviate this pressure, as these findings demonstrate, that commitment is yet to make an impact.”
The HBF is calling for sustained long-term funding to help councils recruit and retain permanent planning staff, additional resources to accompany future planning reforms and annual publication of data showing planning department capacity and performance.
The findings suggest that speeding up housebuilding may now depend as much on the capacity of the planning system to implement reform as on the reforms themselves.
