HTB comments on latest ONS construction data

16 July 2026

Neil Leitch, Managing Director of Development Finance, Hampshire Trust Bank

“These figures reinforce what many developers are already experiencing on the ground. Confidence remains difficult to establish, and the inconsistencies and complexities of the planning system are changing developer behaviour, with more time and capital being directed towards projects where planning risk is lower. As a result, schemes that might have progressed a few years ago are now being filtered out much earlier because developers are taking a far more disciplined view of what remains viable.

“When I speak to developers, the conversation is rarely about demand. Demand for new homes is not the issue. The challenge is committing to long-term projects when planning outcomes have become less predictable, viability is under greater pressure and there is less flexibility to absorb further cost movement once schemes move into delivery. Renewed volatility in energy markets has simply added another layer of uncertainty at a time when margins are already finely balanced.

“The change in Downing Street is another opportunity to reset the conversation around housing delivery, though in truth we've seen no shortage of initiatives, announcements and reforms in recent years. The challenge has never been finding developers willing to build. It has been creating the conditions that allow viable schemes to move from planning into delivery.

“We also need to remember that today's construction output reflects decisions made months or even years ago. Unless developers have greater confidence to bring viable schemes forward today, the industry will continue to fall short of the Government's housing ambitions tomorrow.”