Thirty-three leading organisations across planning, housing, nature, and energy are urging the Government to provide nearly £7m to recruit and train apprentice planners.

The Department for Education has announced that from January 2026, Level 7 apprenticeship levy funding will only cover 16–21-year-olds, a move the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) warns could slash the workforce by 200 planners a year.

The impact is already being felt: One RTPI-accredited school is withdrawing its Level 7 apprenticeship, while another has paused undergraduate-entry recruitment.

With around 70% of planning apprentices working in local government, the restrictions threaten to worsen pressures on an already overstretched system, the planning body warns.

Organisations including the RSPB, Energy UK, the National Trust, and the Home Builders Federation have joined RTPI in writing to Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook calling for £6.8m in urgent funding to support Planning Schools.

Dr Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: ‘We’re about to see measures taken by the Government that will choke off a vital pipeline of talent, just when local authorities need it most.

‘Planning is at the heart of so many of the country’s biggest challenges, from building the homes we need and revitalising town centres, to protecting nature and meeting net zero. Without enough planners, these ambitions simply cannot be delivered.’

While ministers have pledged an additional 300 planning officers, recent research by unions and professional bodies suggests that between 600 and 3,000 more planners will be needed to meet the Government’s development ambitions.