Labour won the 2024 General Election on the 4th of July 2024, and part of their manifesto was to reduce red tape and set ambitious targets of 1.5 million new homes by 2029, a rate of 1,150 per day. Just over a year later, what has happened?
Have the promised changes to planning had the desired effect? Are the promised new homes under construction? Will they get close to meeting their goals, or is it simply wishful thinking?
This article recaps the government’s plans, explores their progress, and examines whether we expect to see success by 2029.
What Were Labour’s Plans for Homebuilding?
At the heart of Labour’s strategy to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029 were several bold delivery models, including dense new urban towns, massive city extensions, and “Milton Keynes 2.0”-style developments.
However, such ambitions require space, and lots of it. It was estimated that these 1.5m new homes would need land equivalent to at least twice the area of Milton Keynes. To do this, Labour proposed utilising existing brown and greyfield sites. In theory, this land alone could provide the space for up to 1.2 million homes.
As part of this, they proposed a massive reform of the planning system that included hiring additional planning officers, fast-tracking planning permission for brownfield and ‘grey belt’ development, and updating the National Planning Policy Framework.
However, achieving these plans in the space of five years, especially in the context of an unpredictable economy and rising costs, was always going to be a tall order. So, how do the plans shape up,12 months on?
What’s Happened So Far?
So far, the OBR has predicted that the reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) are on track to deliver an extra 170,000 homes by 2029/30, the highest level in 40 years. This means there will be a predicted 305,000 new homes per year over the next four years, and a total of 1.3 million by the end of the current parliament.
However, Full Fact reported that between 9 July 2024 and 15 June 2025, an estimated 186,600 net additional homes were built, just 12% of the total target. At the current rate, the government would miss their target by around 18 months. That said, planning changes and development projects take time, so we may see an acceleration in the total number of new homes in the coming years. In July 2025, transport secretary Heidi Alexander stated:
“We have always said that the number of new homes that are built each year will ramp up over the course of the parliament. And so it’s not going to be the case that you just divide 1.5 by the five years of the parliament and say that you have to reach 300,000 homes in that first year, it’s obviously less than that in the first year.”
We also won’t get a full idea of progress so far until the official figures for the 2024/25 financial year are published in November 2025.
Are They On Track or Doomed to Fail?
While progress against the target is clearly being made, and we may see a surge of complete homes over the coming years, it appears as though the government is unlikely to meet their ambitions.
A report by Investec found that around 241,000 homes received planning permission, a 3% drop from 2023. There were notable shortfalls in the South West, the East, the West Midlands and the South East, where just 38,760 of the required 50,000 applications were granted.
In a May 2025 survey carried out by Property Industry Eye, 75% of 485 planning committee members thought that the government’s 1.5 million target was “unachievable”. In the same survey, 90% say the housing crisis has worsened, and 77% rated it as “severe”.
Specifically, they identified slow developer build‑out, insufficient affordable housing funding, community opposition, lack of suitable sites, and planning department under‑resourcing as key blockers to meeting the targets. They also mentioned developer land banking and construction skills shortages as contributing to the situation.
Planning Reforms Not Enough
Research by Centre for Cities in December 2024 projected the government to miss their target by at least 388,000 homes. They highlight that even bolder reform to the planning system is required, such as removing the discretionary planning system and introducing zoning-based planning. Alongside this, they suggest opening up the green belt, especially for areas within walking distances to train stations with connections to large cities.
They also highlight that a “significant increase in grant funded public housebuilding [is required], with a focus in cities, where affordability and quality outcomes are currently worst.
Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities said:
“Our planning system doesn’t allow, and has never allowed, [cities] to build an adequate supply of homes for everyone that could work there.”
“By removing the discretionary element of the planning system, the UK would bring its planning system in line with most developed economies, remove a big block on housebuilding and enable places to better respond to future rises in demand for homes.
“We have done wholesale planning reform before and we can do it again. What we can’t do is raise national economic growth, and reduce the strain high housing costs place on people’s spending power, if we don’t address the backlog of missing homes.”
The Next 4 Years of Homebuilding
The challenges identified in 2024, such as a shortage of skilled labour in construction, planning, and design have shown little improvement. Additionally, rising material and development costs, coupled with inflation and economic uncertainty, have tightened margins for developers.
Lastly, infrastructure such as utilities (especially water), public transport, and local services remain underfunded. If existing communities are pushing the limits of what’s possible, it raises questions about how any new large-scale developments can be supported.
As it stands, the consensus is that the UK government won’t meet its 2029 homebuilding targets.
However, if you’re a property developer in the South East looking to bring your next project to life, don’t hesitate to contact Hunter Finance. We specialise in providing property development finance, and we’re also eager to speak to talented new clients.
