Planning staff shortages threaten homebuilding
Tuesday 1st September, 2026
Nine in ten planning authorities lack enough staff, slowing applications and putting the UK government’s 1.5 million-home target at risk.
This gives Rightmove a natural chance to comment on how planning delays affect people waiting to buy or rent homes in the UK.
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Why have we flagged this?
The planning staff shortage threatens new-home supply and could affect buyers, renters and the wider housing market, giving you an opportunity to share market data on delays and supply.
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Thinking...
These are starting points for inspiration, not finished ideas.
Expert comment
Reframe the 1.5m target as a planning-capacity test
Argue that the government cannot judge its housing target by announcements or permissions alone, but by whether councils can process applications quickly enough to deliver homes.
Expert comment angle: Offer this view from your property market spokesperson to the BBC, national newspapers and housing correspondents.
Why: It turns a technical staffing story into a memorable challenge to the government’s headline promise.
Data idea
Measure new-build listings across England and Wales
Show how the supply of homes marketed as new builds varies across areas facing the planning staff crisis.
Data to investigate: Analyse your property listing data to compare the number of new-build listings with all residential listings by local authority.
Why: It gives consumer media a clear picture of where planned housing supply is already reaching the market, and where it is not.
Newsjack
Create a consumer guide to planning delays
Explain how planning bottlenecks can affect buyers, renters and people waiting for new homes, without suggesting that every delayed application will affect them directly.
Newsjack angle: Publish a simple explainer covering planning stages, likely pinch points and questions consumers should ask agents, then offer it to national consumer and property desks.
Why: It gives journalists a practical public-interest response to an otherwise technical planning story.