Planning Permission Delays: Why They Happen & How to Keep Your Project Moving

Many of our clients are facing long timeframes for decisions on their planning applications. Planning permission for some construction schemes, especially complex ones, can now take years rather than the expected weeks or months.

These planning delays are more than frustrating – they can have a direct impact on project viability.

What is Causing Planning Delays?

The planning system in England is under increasing pressure, impacting all areas of construction. Several factors are contributing to longer delays than usual.

Local Planning Authority COVID Backlogs

Decision making stalled during the COVID pandemic as local planning authority staff adapted to working from home and new operational challenges. A surge in fresh planning applications from summer 2020 onwards placed more pressure on an already stretched system.

Many local planning authorities have been playing catch up ever since. They’re dealing with the backlog while continuing to receive new planning applications.

Staff Shortages and Under-Resourcing

The state of local authorities varies across the country. However, on average only 1 in 10 planning departments in England are fully staffed and 90% are working close to capacity.

82% of authorities have said they have difficulty hiring planners, and there is a relatively high staff turnover in planning departments. Budget pressures make it challenging for some to offer a competitive salary and over 40% of planning authorities report that funding is their greatest barrier to recruitment. This makes it harder to fill vacancies, particularly for senior roles.

The result is that local planning authorities lack resources and have overstretched caseloads. There is also a skills shortage among the planning workforce in the public sector. 93% of planning authorities report skills gaps and this is having a direct impact on how fast planning applications are determined.

Policy Changes

The pressure on the planning system has been compounded by other factors, including policy changes and evolving regulations. Planning officers need to interpret and apply new rules, which can lead to slower decision-making initially. 22.6% of planners report that the increased complexity of planning impacts their work capacity.

Applications often need to include more details and supporting information. They may be returned for additional details. More documents means more time is needed to review them.

Consultation Delays on Applications

Many planning applications require input from statutory bodies, such as:

• Highways England
• Environment Agency
• Historic England
• Ecology and drainage bodies

Similar to local planning authorities, these bodies often have limited staff and strained resources across high workloads. More complex planning applications may need several rounds of consultation. Even if planning officers are ready to decide, applications may be delayed as they wait for external input.

Section 106 Negotiations

Section 106 (S106) agreements are the legal contract between a developer and a local planning authority. They were previously known as planning obligations and are necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms. They ensure that developers do certain things to mitigate the impacts of a development.

The (S106) agreements are often complex and the legal processes have always been time-consuming. They involve heavy negotiations about what the developer can afford vs what the council needs for policy compliance.

Why negotiations are taking longer

Higher construction costs can make project viability more marginal for developers, so more negotiation is often needed. The increased complexity of planning means planning departments need to scrutinise agreements more closely, so more evidence is required.

While guidance recommends that S106 negotiations should begin as early as possible, infrastructure providers (like education, highways and public health bodies) often provide input late in the process.

This has all led to (S106) agreements taking 20% longer and the majority of local authorities report average negotiation timescales of over 12 months.

The Impact of Delays on the Construction Sector

Planning permission may only seem like a procedural hurdle to be overcome. But planning decisions sit at the intersection of vision and delivery for construction. They must balance the creation of new housing, infrastructure, industrial and retail projects while protecting key environmental and historic assets.

For developers, architects, building contractors, town planners and surveyors alike these planning delays are frustrating. They also have a significant impact on the feasibility of projects and the wider construction industry.

Scheduling Uncertainty

When planning approvals are uncertain, developers struggle to plan, finance and schedule their projects effectively. This has a knock-on effect for the whole industry, creating a bottleneck.

Project managers struggle to schedule contractors, align project stages, and order materials at the right time. This can lead to a sudden rush to move things forward, with increased costs.

Reduced Market Activity

Broader uncertainty can lead to more stalled decision-making and projects that once seemed viable are often put on hold. As an industry, we’ve seen this hesitancy in the UK’s construction output recently, particularly in the private sector.

Construction output fell by 2% overall in the last quarter of 2025 and 0.2% on an annual basis, driven largely by a fall in new work. Year-on-year, January 2026 saw a 10.7% decline in new private housing construction, with pauses in decision-making and waning confidence.

We’ve also seen this first-hand as land surveyors, reflected in the types of work we’re approached about.

Cost Implications

When construction schedules are extended, it can take longer to bring projects to completion. These delays can expose projects to higher material and labour costs due to inflation. Any fixed-price agreements in place may expire, forcing costly renegotiations. Rising borrowing costs sometimes mean longer planning timelines directly increase a project’s costs.

These cost implications can erode margins before construction even begins. Contractors could have to reprice and budgets may no longer be accurate, even when they’ve incorporated overflow.

How the Planning Process Might Change

The government has recognised that planning delays are having a substantial impact on the construction industry. The planning process in England has been reformed to ‘Get Britain Building Again’ through The Planning and Infrastructure Act, which became law in December 2025. However, this latest planning legislation is not the first designed to get homes and infrastructure projects built faster.

Since 1947, The Town and Country Planning Act has required Local Authorities to produce development plans and for planning permission to be sought for new developments. Although there have been policy updates over the years, these two things are still the foundation of how land use is regulated in England. This system governs what can be built where and when, and people can’t just develop and build what they like wherever they want.

A key part of the new Planning and Infrastructure Act are mechanisms to improve certainty and decision-making in the planning system. This will be introduced in stages, so changes will not happen overnight. However, it will require new development planning to be more collaborative and joined up.

In the construction industry, we need to start preparing for this now. It is likely that more information will have to be submitted in planning applications. Working more closely with planning officers to improve decision making timeframes will also be vital.

How Land Surveyors Help Keep Projects Moving

Land surveyors reduce risk and uncertainty by providing accurate site data early in the process. This allows project development teams to create proposals based upon real world information. Having clearer, more reliable information can help your application move through the system more efficiently.

Have Details at the Start

Every planning application has to be accompanied by mandatory supporting documentation, as well as any local validation requirements. Without these, the decision-making process cannot begin and an application will stall. Land surveyors can support this with topographical surveys and measured building surveys, which provide the detailed information demanded by local planning authorities.

Make Work Easier For Planning Departments

Submitting comprehensive survey data at the outset will provide planning departments with an up-to-date site layout and feature information. This gives a visual representation that the new proposals can be easily compared and considered against.

Survey data can help demonstrate how the proposals meet planning policy design requirements. It can also be used to inform impact assessments, which are often required as part of a planning application. These can include a visibility splay assessment; ecology surveys; biodiversity net gain assessments and arboricultural (tree) surveys.

Reduce Additional Questions

Having this data early on avoids some of the time-consuming back-and-forth questions and answers between planners and the development team. This will reduce planning delays and help your project move forward more quickly.

A professional land survey can also be used throughout a project’s development process. Commissioning one at the planning stage is an investment for the application stage but also in certainty, cost control, and smooth delivery for the lifetime of the project.

Keeping Planning Moving

Planning permission delays are a reality of the development process, but there are ways of reducing them. By preparing early, collecting accurate site information, and understanding the system’s requirements, you can mitigate risk and maintain momentum.