Just one cloud in the sky at Leeds last week

Last week, the sun donned its hard hat, as thousands of property professionals from across the UK descended on Leeds for the latest (and biggest) UK Real Estate Infrastructure and Investment Forum. Nearly 8,000 official delegates were in town, in addition to the non-paying ones who preferred networking in local bars to conference halls. It was a gathering like no other and could easily have earned the title UK Property Festival, Jamboree or Expo for the levels of optimism and positivity.  

All corners of the real estate world were in attendance, from local authorities eager to package up and sell development land opportunities, to the developers from all sectors who were looking for those opportunities, to the investors and funders who are on hand to get out their cheque books and pay for it all to happen, to the consultants (ourselves included) service providers and tech companies who support those teams as they convert ambitions into plans and then into homes and social infrastructure. 

One striking feature of last week was the scale of local authority involvement – this was not just about London and Manchester, but the exhibitors included diverse locations such as Cornwall, Stirling, Blackpool, Hull and Torbay. If the levelling-up agenda had a conference embodiment, it feels like it happened in Leeds last week! 

The content of the conference was also diverse and challenging, as the property sector has shaken off the image of being stuck in the past to develop a voracious appetite for demonstrating thought and practice on some of the major contemporary issues such as ESG, social impact and EDI. Gone are the discussions about how we can build… buildings! In their place the discussions are broader, contemplating how we can build… communities, opportunities and better outcomes.  

It felt like collaboration was happening in every part of the country, the sun was shining, people were smiling, and delegates talked about how big it could be in 2024. Even the assorted protestors outside the conference added to the credibility of the event and the fact that they had come to Leeds to protest on an eclectic mix of issues, calling for bans on net zero, vaccines, surveillance and 15-minute cities, only added to the sense that the decision-makers were in town.   

 I could end there on a positive note, but amidst the optimism, there was still a dark cloud that came up in almost every conversation – the delays to the planning decision-making process.  

Adequately resourcing the planning system is not a new topic and RTPI President Sue Bridge, challenged the Housing Minister Rachel Maclean MP, with the statistic that 25% of planners have left the profession in the last nine years. Lockdown and the stresses of the planning system have only fuelled this exodus which now only further exacerbates the problem.   

When you add to the mix blockages from Natural England, politicians pandering to NIMBYs, a Secretary of State who seems to thrive on his dislike of the people who actually build new homes, and the range of statutory consultees who more often feel like they should be renamed statutory objectors, developers often justifiably feel that they system is stacked against them. Just this week, the Home Builders Federation claimed that Natural England has blocked 160,000 new homes and they warned that the number of new homes being delivered could fall from 240,000 in 2018-19 to 111,000 by 2025. 

Delays in the decision-making process are not the end of the story and missing a 13-week determination timescale does not simply mean that applications are resolved in 14 weeks or 15 weeks. Time and time again I hear stories of applications locked in the system for months or even years. Even a determination doesn’t end the painful and expensive wait for applications – signing legal agreements, discharge of planning conditions and all the other interactions with local authority planning departments take longer than they used to, and everyone has a story of frustration at projects taking longer than they really should. When the tabloids throw around accusations of land banking what they should be calling it is local authority gridlocking as schemes with a resolution to consent are hobbled by delays.  

The Housing Minister last week talked about the need to recruit and retain planners, to increase planning application fees to provide sufficient resource, and of course touched on the ever-present planning reforms. However, the mood from developers is that the problem is still worsening, and they need more action on tackling the blockages, the delays, and the objectors – and of course, this is not just about housing, as energy, transport and infrastructure planning faces the same set of issues. 

As Lord Johnson, Trade Minister toured the conference last week promoting business and investment, the audience thrived on his messages, but for that investment to happen he needs other government colleagues to tackle these issues and ensure that UKREiiF 2024 is bigger, better and even more optimistic.  

 As Kate Willard OBE, Thames Estuary Envoy, so neatly put it “We are here to get it done!”