As a lender working with SME housebuilders, we see firsthand the issues that the current planning system poses. It’s costly with often lengthy delays.

Not only does the current planning system create challenges for those working in the sector, it ultimately impacts everybody. As a nation, we have an acute shortage of homes and, with the population forecast to grow by nearly 10% over the next 15 years, that will only deteriorate further unless we take action now.

That is not just homes to buy, but private rental stock and social homes. Most sectors of society are impacted, from first-time buyers, to students, to downsizers and retirees.

While these challenges continue to become more pronounced, there is little being done to tackle the most obvious obstacle – planning. Without addressing this issue, the shortage of homes will inevitably keep pushing prices higher.

Although house prices dropped following the catastrophic mini-budget in 2022, as anticipated, they have begun to rise again now that the BoE's base rate has lowered, mortgage rates are falling and the inflationary pressures have eased.

Halifax recently announced that the price of the average UK home came close to a record high in September, just over a hundred pounds short of the record set in June 2022.

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It will therefore be no surprise if we start to see record prices again now that mortgages are becoming cheaper. Ultimately, we need more houses built and we need to remove the barriers for housebuilders to be able to do this, particularly SME housebuilders.

The larger housebuilders have resources to deal with the planning system, but for a housebuilder building five homes in their local area, a long delay to their planning application can make or break a scheme.

SME housebuilders make a great contribution to the UK, they develop tens of thousands of homes and typically offer a more bespoke proposition.

They tend to know the areas in which they work better, they understand what the residents like and dislike and it’s more likely to be a scheme made up of tens of homes, sometimes hundreds, but never thousands.

But at the moment, the planning system is not designed for SME housebuilders to deliver the homes the country needs.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consultation which considers the industries views on these matters recently closed on 24th September.

Although we are awaiting the government's response, we hope it will mean a dramatic overhaul to address the long waits, costly fees and importantly reinstate the mandatory housing targets that give local planning offices and homebuilders a motive – to deliver a quota of homes for people in that local area.