Rising costs, skills shortages, and complex regulation are among the key challenges faced by local authorities when it comes to delivering new houses, according to a new annual review.
A new report from social impact organisation 1-5M New Homes warns that councils across England face 10 major obstacles blocking the delivery of new housing.
The 1-5M Annual Review 2025 identifies viability issues, rising construction costs, and uncertain funding streams as top concerns for local authorities struggling to meet housing targets.
The review also points to land shortages, planning delays, and regulatory complexity as compounding the challenge. Skills gaps in planning and development teams, alongside limited infrastructure capacity, further slow progress.
Beyond the technical barriers, the report highlights the need to rebuild community trust and boost partnership working with local developers. 1-5M urges central and local government to adopt ‘a more collaborative, better resourced and more confident housing system.’
‘If Government, councils and industry pull together, the ambition of 1.5 million new homes can become a reality – creating places that are not only built faster, but built better, and leaving a legacy of stronger, more sustainable communities,’ the report concludes.
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