Local authority capacity and land availability: Barriers to building, revelations from the ‘2025 Planning Barometer’
The 2025 National Planning Barometer, launched at UKREiiF by SEC Newgate, providingdeep insight into what’s holding back housing delivery across the UK. From planning committee sentiment to infrastructure bottlenecks and land access challenges, the findings reflect a system under pressure and highlight where organisations like TerraQuest can help.
Funding and capacity gaps are slowing local authority planning
Among 485 surveyed councillors on planning committees:
- 62% cited lack of funding as a key challenge to housing delivery
- 58% pointed to slow build-out rates
- 33% blamed skills shortages
- 12% mentioned poor infrastructure planning
Across the board, councillors reported understaffed planning departments, limited technical expertise, and a general lack of specialist support to assess applications effectively, especially in the face of increased expectations around design quality, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), and grey belt policies.
As Sean Ellis from Fernham Homes noted:
“Planning authorities are underfunded and overwhelmed. SMEs can’t wait - we need quicker, more predictable decisions.”
Land viability and referencing obstacles
45% of councillors flagged “lack of suitable sites” as a top barrier to new homes. This highlights the growing need for smarter land finding tools and land referencing services particularly for the public sector and SME’s who don’t have access to the same resources as volume developers.
TerraQuest’s land finding services are designed to support exactly this: identifying viable, policy-aligned sites quickly and cost-effectively., even within complex urban and brownfield settings. By streamlining access to land data and reducing uncertainty, we help developers big and small de-risk development and navigate early-stage planning.
Confidence and delivery challenges
With buyer confidence low, especially in the off-plan market, developers are cautious. Councillors noted that:
- 50% of developers don’t know their local housing targets
- Many find national targets lack relevance to their local housing needs
This disconnect between national ambition and local reality fuels delays, hesitation, and missed opportunities. There’s also growing recognition that land must be better matched with infrastructure and community services, something TerraQuest is supporting through integrated data and land finding services for both the private and public sector.
The road ahead: strategic partnerships and smarter data
To deliver more homes, we need more than just planning permissions. We need well-resourced local authorities, better data, and trusted private sector partners to accelerate delivery.
More than just a data provider, TerraQuest acts as a trusted partner to local authorities facing capacity challenges, offering expert support with validation and case management services alongside advanced digital tools to streamline planning processes. If your local authority is struggling with resource constraints, get in touch.
At TerraQuest and Planning Portal, we collaborate closely with government, councils, and developers to enhance access to land intelligence, simplify planning workflows, and accelerate delivery on the ground. The 2025 Planning Barometer confirms what we already know: while capacity challenges are significant, they can be overcome with the right expertise and technology.
