New housing, no infrastructure

Following the government’s cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, the new Housing minister, Steve Read, issued a “call to arms” to “build baby build”

“I want us to build, baby, build, so we can put the key to a decent home into the hands of every single family that needs it”, he said, continuing “we are doubling down on our plans to unleash one of the biggest eras of building in our country’s history and we are backing the builders all the way”.

He concluded the call by proclaiming 

“Through major planning reform and investment, we will break down the barriers to development and build the 1.5 million homes this country needs as part of our Plan for Change.”

To date, the government’s pledge to build 1.5 new homes by the end of this Parliament is looking increasingly harder to meet.

Official figures on the number of net additional dwellings under the current government  are usually released every November and refer to the previous financial year, so we don’t expect to have complete data which covers any of Labour’s first year in office until November 2025, according to Full Fact. “But based on estimates which have been published, we’re currently rating this pledge as “appears off track”—and this also appears to be the view of many in the sector as well” they report.

But we have a more immediate challenge with the new housing that’s being built. A week doesn’t go by when I don’t see a story about a new housing development with no GP, inadequate water & sewage provision, or promised public amenities withdrawn to due to “viability”

This week three came to light:

·      A proposed development of 70 new homes in Leeholme, County Durham rejected after residents warned that the village's infrastructure would not be able to cope with the extra demand.

·      Nearly 30,000 homes are being held up over local authority fears about inadequate wastewater infrastructure, including 7,000 affordable homes, according to a recent report

·      Residents in Shipton-on-Stour take action against plans for excessive housebuilding without adequate infrastructure

Stories like these are abundant, and not unique to the current government; in fact I’ve been following the “no infrastructure” problem for some time and have described how it’s impacting community services and local GP services across the country. A recent study by the Open University investigated the experiences of residents on new housing estates and found that a lack of community facilities and public transport creates particular challenges for those on lower incomes, which can be "unnoticed and unseen" among the "shininess" of new homes. The Guardian reported over the summer that “thousands of homes across England are being built without urgently needed community infrastructure, leaving families without access to playgrounds, schools, shops, and even doctors.”

So nothing’s changed, except the impact on local communities is felt wider and harder, through increased health inequalities, social isolation and lack of affordable housing.

The issue has been raised in Parliament, and the government is vague about the requirements, timing and funding of infrastructure for new housing developments. In its Golden Rules for Green Belt Development, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government refers to travel routes and affordable housing, and otherwise points to the NPPF for clarification on its policy. It is, however, running a consultation until end of next month on streamlining infrastructure planning (although this isn’t necessarily related to housing).

Health infrastructure is led by an array of NHS bodies, which often causes confusion, delays and ultimately no provision in new developments. Urban + Civic’s large scale development on a former quarry in Northamptonshire (965 acres, 4320 new homes) as of yet has no GP provision on site, despite almost 2,000 completed homes.

Developers say it’s a chicken and egg situation, based on cash flows – they need to sell homes before funds are available for infrastructure. Aecom, a leading developer of infrastructure, put it bluntly in a recent blog post: “Coordinating, funding and delivering this supporting infrastructure will be central to the success or failure of the government’s plans”

Aecom emphasises the importance of Section 106:

“Supporting infrastructure for housing is usually funded by Section 106 (S106) agreements. As a legal agreement between local planning authorities and those with an interest in the land to be developed, these contracts are linked to planning permissions and can also be known as planning obligations.  S106 agreements provide an effective mechanism for securing infrastructure delivery. However, they can often be a source of contention and debate between developers and the public sector — and create long-term delays to projects.”

Recent research from the Home Builders Federation has indeed shown that local authorities report 20% rise in Section 106 negotiation timelines, and that housebuilders are now waiting an average of 515 days for infrastructure agreements to be finalised, adding significant delays to an already complex and time-consuming planning process.

So what can be done to improve the situation? I see five areas where the government  - central and local – and industry can effect change:

1.   Rethink Section 106: the NAAO reported in June that

“Developer contributions support the delivery of vital new infrastructure and affordable housing for local areas, but they have significant limitations. Current policy is not reliably delivering the infrastructure funding required for new developments, even where it may be financially viable to do so.”

I’ve argued that Section 106 should focus on improving the social determinants of health, and its allocation and implementation be used as a vehicle to convene health providers, community groups and business interests.

2.   Encourage and support industry-led change in practice: this is what the Build for Health campaign aims to do

3.   Leverage new infrastructure on the introduction of the Neighbourhood Health Service to local areas. This opens up possibilities to provide health services that are not GP dependent, and designed to meet the needs and build on the strengths of a particular place

4. increase focus on Water & Sewage capacity – this will become increasingly important with the development of data centres (more on this coming soon), but household water consumption has increased by 70% over the last four decades. The government has recently launched a consultation on proposed water efficiency rules – this is your chance to have a say on how we meet water & sewage demands in an era of accelerated housebuilding.

5.   Make infrastructure design and delivery a key element of the government’s commitment to building new towns. Demonstrate learning from past mistakes and make a positive commitment to showcase what good look like – last week’s announcement that new towns will be influenced and inspired by the King’s Poundbury housing developments is a step in the right direction.

Somethings gotta give. Government needs to deliver on its commitments, developers need to lead on policy and practice, local authorities need to spend monies made available to them and communities need to work with all of the above to define and deliver what they want. Not an easy challenge to meet.

Clare Delmar

Listen to Locals

27 September 2025