New research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Paragon Bank has highlighted worsening planning staff shortages in local authority departments, despite Government commitments to increase planning capacity.
The Planning on Empty report, based on Freedom of Information responses from councils across England and Wales, found that 90% of local planning authorities are understaffed. On average, planning departments are operating at 80% of the staffing levels they say they need, employing fewer than 36 staff despite requiring around 44 to operate at full capacity.
The Government has committed to recruiting 1,400 additional planners during this Parliament and has invested almost £100m in planning capacity since 2024. However, councils now estimate they need an additional 2,660 planners to reach full staffing levels – a 20% increase on last year’s estimate of 2,200.
The shortages are contributing to delays throughout the planning process. Only around 20% of major planning applications are determined within the statutory 13-week target, while Section 106 agreements take an average of 515 days to complete.
Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive of HBF, said: “Planning reform will only succeed if local planning authorities have the staff and resources to deliver it.”
He added: “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 report also found that more than half of councils rely on agency workers to fill staffing gaps, while average staff turnover stands at 11%.
With the new National Planning Policy Framework introducing further requirements for planning teams, HBF is calling for sustained, long-term funding to help councils recruit and retain permanent staff and ensure planning reforms are backed by the resources needed to implement them
