Housebuilding contracts for seventeenth consecutive month - Phoebus calls for urgent planning reform

04 June 2026

Richard Pike, Sales and Marketing Director at Phoebus Software, has called for urgent reform of planning laws:

“Housebuilding remains firmly in contraction territory, following a fall in output for the seventeenth consecutive month, and the sector faces the fastest pace of input price inflation since June 2022. Weak demand, supplier issues and fragile client confidence have led to projects being delayed or stalled, and while activity may begin to stabilise, any improvement is likely to be gradual through 2026 as financing conditions ease.

“But beyond the economic pressures, this is increasingly becoming a question of delivery. The Government’s housebuilding ambitions risk looking like another broken promise unless the structural barriers holding back development are tackled with urgency.

“Development funding is more available, lenders are active, and conditions are improving - yet projects are still not progressing at the scale needed.

“As the OECD highlighted in its latest UK economic outlook, an overhaul of the National Planning Policy Framework is essential. Without meaningful planning reform, any recovery seems a long way off.”