The government’s planning reforms are showing early signs of helping to ease the housing crisis in some parts of the country, according to SEC Newgate’s National Planning Barometer 2026.
The national survey of more than 530 planning committee members found almost two years into Labour’s programme of planning reform, around one in three planning committee members across England (35%), say they have seen an increase in the number of homes being consented in their local authority. More than half (53%) report no change and 6% say consents have fallen.
The impact of reform varies sharply by geography. Councillors in the West Midlands are significantly more likely to report rising consents (54%), while those in London are far more pessimistic, with three‑quarters saying the reforms have had no impact at all on housing approvals in the capital.
Slow build-out by developers was cited by nearly three quarters of councillors (72% – up from 58% last year) as a major issue and only a small minority of councillors (13%) see the planning system itself as the main problem.
Leyla Hart-Svensson (pictured), MD of insight and intelligence at SEC Newgate, said: “The National Planning Barometer 2026 shows that judging planning reform against a single housing target risks missing the bigger picture. By linking long-term structural change to the ambition of building 1.5 million homes, the government has set itself a test shaped as much by economic conditions as policy. “Our findings do not suggest the housing crisis is in any way resolved, nor that the system has been transformed overnight.
“They do, however, point to early progress, with councillors reporting greater confidence, some uplift in consents and a less negative outlook than in recent years. Progress is not uniform. Stronger markets are beginning to see momentum, while more constrained areas, particularly London, continue to face entrenched challenges.”
Perry Miller, MD of planning and engagement at SEC Newgate, added: “It’s clear that permissions alone do not build homes. Councillors point to a range of structural barriers, from viability and infrastructure to labour supply and market demand, that sit beyond the planning system itself. For government, the next phase of reform may need to focus not only on planning performance, but on the wider conditions that turn permissions into completed homes. For developers, promoters and landowners, the findings underline that councillors are placing much greater scrutiny on their track record of delivery. The real test now is whether early planning momentum can be converted into homes on the ground.”
