To great fanfare, the King’s Speech a year ago introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, intended to “accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing”. A year on, developers and tier one infrastructure contractors remain unconvinced this ambition will be met — not least the increasingly infamous target of building 1.5 million homes.
Reports this week of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ intention to review planning rules for “critical” national projects are a reminder of the struggles the government has encountered, as well as its determination to build considerably more homes and infrastructure than during the previous 14 years under Conservative rule.
By contrast, the government has inherited the Conservatives’ climate and nature commitments, including the 2050 net zero target under the Climate Change Act and the 30% nature restoration target agreed under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15. Nearer to the ground is the Future Homes Standard, originally expected at the end of this year.
Aligning a significant ramping up of construction with sustainability is no straightforward undertaking. A prime example is the Nature Restoration Fund proposed under the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which would allow nature loss resulting from development to be offset in any part of the country, rather than locally. The Fund — intended to facilitate planning approvals — has faced severe criticism, leading to a wave of amendments to tighten its scope.
Aside from the scale of these objectives, the challenges facing the sector are numerous. Strengthening evidence-based policy dialogue between industry and government is now more essential than ever.
From challenges to opportunities
Buildings account for a significant share of UK emissions. The UK Green Building Council’s Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap estimates that by 2035 operational carbon in domestic buildings must fall by 86%, alongside a 50% cut in embodied carbon — the emissions from materials, construction, and maintenance over a building’s lifecycle.
Meanwhile, skills shortages continue to be a major barrier. Places for People estimate that one million additional workers will be needed by 2032 to meet low-carbon construction and retrofit demand, yet training provision remains patchy. As Kelly Crews of Willmott Dixon puts it: “There’s this big transition driven by the green agenda, but what’s not coming alongside it at the same pace is the development of the skills.”
The quality and efficiency of the UK’s housing stock is equally pressing. Around 58% of homes are rated EPC D or worse, with upgrades to EPC C estimated to save households £8.8 billion annually. Poor insulation contributes to high energy bills, while inadequate ventilation affects public health. Gas cooking, for example, has been linked to indoor air pollution levels comparable to diesel exhaust fumes.
Policy clarity and reliable data are essential to attract investment, yet current standards and methodologies are fragmented. This discourages uptake of green mortgages and leaves green finance for housing underdeveloped.
These challenges are matched by opportunities. Modelling suggests AI-enabled storage and rooftop solar could cut bills by up to 70% in social housing, improving affordability and energy resilience. New market arrangements such as P415, which allows peer-to-peer electricity trading, could unlock up to £1 billion a year in unused clean power by enabling local energy trading.
Better building design, as demonstrated in Denmark’s Living Places project, can deliver healthier indoor environments, with benefits for wellbeing and productivity. Preparing homes for EV charging, heat pumps, and other electrified systems will make them future-proof and reduce retrofit costs later.
Secure domestic energy generation — paired with modern storage solutions — will reduce reliance on imported power while enabling households to store and trade surplus energy back to the grid, lowering bills and supporting grid stability.
The new forum
The complexity of these challenges underscores the need for a diverse, expert-led forum to forge consensus between sectors and across Westminster parties. The Policy Liaison Group on Sustainable Buildings will bring together parliamentarians, industry leaders, and technical experts spanning planning, construction, energy, and design.
Through parliamentary roundtables, briefings, and policy consultations, the new forum will help translate complex issues into credible, workable recommendations for government. Its first roundtable on 9 September will focus on energy security. From there, it will address a broad range of topics — from battery storage and trading to green skills to supply-chain resilience — all with the aim of aligning policy with the UK’s sustainability and housing objectives.
Bridging policy ambition and delivery is essential if commitments on infrastructure and sustainability are to become reality in communities across the UK. The PLG on Sustainable Buildings has been established to function as that bridge.