Two of the UK’s major trade bodies released studies on Tuesday providing different takes on similar issues.
Lem Bingley, PW editor
Make UK, which represents manufacturers, published a report on the impact of planning problems: ‘Unblocking growth: fixing planning to unlock UK manufacturing investment’.
The organisation said that nearly half (46%) of its members believed the planning system holds back the economy, while a similar number (43%) said it directly constrained their ability to grow and invest.
The top priorities for planning reform were given as lower compliance and application costs (cited by 53%), faster decisions (47%) and better co-ordination between regional, national and local authorities (46%).
Make UK urged government to: introduce a ‘growth test’ to measure and track the speed, cost and outcomes for industrial schemes; create a planning fast track for strategic projects; strengthen national planning policies and track regional decisions to spot foot-draggers; and above all, cut the cost and complexity of applications.
It’s encouraging to see both trade bodies banging their drums roughly in tune
As Make UK points out: “For many manufacturers, particularly SMEs, the challenge is not just delay, but the time, resource and expertise required to navigate
the process. A system that is expensive and difficult to use acts as a barrier to investment, even if decisions are eventually approved.”
Everyone involved in property will recognise the symptoms. I suspect few would rate Make UK’s chances of making much of a dent with its recommendations.
One idea does jump out: it would be very instructive if government were to collect data on how much applicants have to spend to get approval, and how that cost breaks down. Policymakers really ought to have this data to hand.
Meanwhile, freshly amalgamated property trade body Real Estate:UK has published its latest study into investment volumes: ‘Who invests in UK property 2025/6?’. The short answer is, aside from the UK itself, the US.
In 2025, investment volumes topped £57bn, of which £27.2bn (56%) was foreign sourced, the US accounting for a record £18.2bn (67% of foreign funding, or 32% of the overall total). A big chunk came from one source, Welltower, which splurged £6.4bn on care homes from Barchester Healthcare and HC-One.
Equally striking was the mix of destinations for the overall £57bn, with no sector standing out. Offices attracted £11bn, healthcare £10bn, and similar volumes went into the living, industrial and retail/hospitality segments. This marked a big contrast with prior years, where there was much more evidence of favoured and unfavoured asset classes.
Alignment between the two trade bodies came in the commentary. “It is important to bear in mind the distinction between appetite to buy existing assets and appetite to fund new development,” Real Estate:UK noted, adding: “In a world where construction costs have doubled in less than a decade and the cost of capital has increased significantly, there is far less ability for new development to absorb the cost of planning obligations or process delays.”
It is encouraging to see both trade bodies banging their drums roughly in tune. Whether a government consumed by infighting is actually listening is another matter entirely.
