Planning reform: implications for Living sector investors and developers

Since Prime Minister Andy Burnham's appointment in July 2026, housing delivery, regional economic growth, and devolution have moved closer to the centre of Government policy. The return of Angela Rayner as Housing Secretary, the retention of Matthew Pennycook as Housing and Planning Minister, and the creation of "No10 North" signal a commitment not only to planning reform, but also to empowering city-regions and local leaders to accelerate housing delivery and regeneration.

However, the opportunity is accompanied by increased regulatory rigidity, more front-loaded risk and evolving compliance obligations – particularly in relation to higher risk residential buildings (HRBs).

This briefing highlights the key changes and their practical implications for investors and developers operating across the living sector.

Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 – a structural shift in the planning system

The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 represents a fundamental reset of the planning regime, with a clear policy objective: faster delivery of housing and infrastructure. 

Key design principles include:

• Reduced delay, cost, and litigation risk
• Greater strategic direction from central Government combined with expanded delivery powers for regional and local authorities.
• Stronger pro-development policy framework
• Delivery aligned to national priorities (including 1.5 million homes target)
• Increased emphasis on mayoral combined authorities and city-regional delivery vehicles as partners in housing and infrastructure delivery.

What this means in practice:

• Faster decision-making and fewer procedural hurdles
• Less local discretion and more policy-led outcomes
• Increased reliance on standardised national processes
• Shift towards strategic (rather than site-by-site) environmental mitigation.

Key implementation timeline:

• 2026: compulsory purchase reforms (faster vesting, streamlined processes)
• 2026 onwards: NSIP reforms and reduced consultation requirements
• Late 2026/2027: full cost recovery planning fees and nature restoration levies.

NPPF reform – stronger presumption in favour of delivery

The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) further reinforces the delivery first agenda, with a shift from discretionary decision-making toward more predictable outcomes. 

Key changes:

• Greater weight given to meeting housing need
• Increased pressure on authorities with out of date plans
• More explicit guidance on Green Belt review and release
• Stronger support for policy-compliant and deliverable schemes.

Implications for developers and investors:

• Greater scrutiny is likely to be placed on affordable housing provision, place-making and long-term community outcomes. Developers may face increasing expectations to demonstrate social value alongside deliverability
• Increased opportunity in areas with planning policy gaps or delays
• Greater emphasis on viability, deliverability, and infrastructure readiness
• Higher likelihood of success for well-evidenced schemes.

For decision-making:

• Schemes offering meaningful affordable housing, regeneration benefits, and infrastructure integration may receive stronger political support than purely market-led development proposals.
• Reduced flexibility once policy alignment is demonstrated
• More predictable outcomes – supporting underwriting confidence.

Devolution and regional growth

The Burnham Government has placed regional growth at the heart of its economic strategy. The establishment of No10 North and the transfer of growth and devolution functions closer to regional decision-makers indicate a greater role for mayoral authorities in shaping housing, regeneration, and infrastructure investment priorities. 

Implications:

Increased opportunities in city-regional growth markets

• Greater importance of engagement with combined authorities and metro mayors
• Growing emphasis on transport-led regeneration
• Increased public sector participation in major development projects
• Potential acceleration of strategic masterplanned developments outside London.

New Towns programme

The Government has relaunched a large-scale New Towns strategy, targeting long-term housing delivery through coordinated, infrastructure-led development. 

The New Towns Programme is now supported by a Prime Minister who has consistently advocated large-scale, infrastructure-led housing growth and stronger public sector involvement in development delivery. This may increase the likelihood of accelerated funding decisions, development corporation activity and public/private partnership opportunities.

Pipeline locations (examples):

• Leeds South Bank
• Victoria North, Manchester
• Thamesmead
• Milton Keynes expansion
• Tempsford, Bedfordshire.

Timeline:

• 2026–2027: designation, consultation and development corporations
• 2027–2029: masterplanning and infrastructure funding
• Late 2020s+: initial delivery; scale-up thereafter. 

Investor perspective:

• Significant long-term capital deployment opportunities
• Increased role for public/private partnerships
• Longer time horizons but greater potential scale and aggregation.

International capital and foreign investment

The Burnham Government's housing and growth agenda is likely to be viewed positively by long-term institutional investors seeking policy certainty, housing supply growth, and large-scale regeneration opportunities. Build-to-rent, affordable housing, mixed-use regeneration, and infrastructure-linked residential development are expected to remain attractive sectors for overseas pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors. 

However, investors should anticipate increased expectations in relation to affordable housing delivery, social value outcomes and partnership with public authorities. The policy environment is likely to favour patient capital and long-term ownership strategies over purely opportunistic development models.

Conclusion

The current reform agenda represents a decisive shift toward a delivery led, centralised planning system. For investors and developers in the living sector, the direction of travel is broadly positive, offering greater certainty and opportunity, but requiring a more disciplined and forward planned approach to risk. 

Training – legal, regulatory, and commercial issues for the development sector

The reforms outlined above are creating both new opportunities and new challenges for investors, developers, landowners and public sector bodies. Keeping pace with legislative change, evolving policy priorities and emerging environmental and building safety requirements is essential to making informed strategic and commercial decisions.

To help you understand and respond to this rapidly changing landscape, our Planning and Environment team offers a series of focused training sessions covering the key legal, regulatory and commercial issues affecting the development sector. These sessions can be tailored to the needs of your organisation and delivered as standalone briefings or as part of a wider training programme. A summary of our current training topics is set out below.