Planning Reform Conference: Unlocking Sustainable Growth

Overview
Major Planning reform is required to resolve supply side pressures on the housing market. Although a myriad of other factors contributes to anaemic housebuilding, the UK’s byzantine planning system has been identified by the current administration as one of the primary blockers.

With the government targeting 370,000 homes to be built per year, an increase from previous target of 300,000 the reform agenda is being watched by the private & public sector alike. This is of course compounded by the reality that from September 2023 – September 2024, only 221,500 were built according to EPC data.

The Planning Reform Conference 2025 bring together leaders from across the private, public, and charity sectors. This conference aims to enable leaders to navigate the evolving planning landscape & to drive sustainable growth of our towns and communities.

Agenda
9.00am
Registration

9.20am
Chairs Opening Remarks

09.30am
Keynote: Policy Update: aims of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Hear from the government to understand the latest plans for encouraging house building and regeneration
Learn how the government plans to liberalise planning near commuter belts to ensure housing is found where it is needed
No houses without infrastructure; hear how the government plans to fast track certain projects to ensure sustainable house building
10.00am
Keynote: Overcoming Barriers to House Building

Explore the reasons behind the housing shortage, understanding both supply & demand issues nationwide
Learn how different areas face different issues with respect to housebuilding
Appreciate the interlinked factors leading to the current lack of house building
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy & Market Insight, National Federation of Builders (CONFIRMED)



10.30am
Questions & Answers

10.50am
Comfort Break

11.10am
Keynote: Views from the Private Sector – Market implications & Financial viability of New Developments

Address the issues with escalating construction costs which are impacting feasibility
Learn from successful urban regeneration projects
Hear innovative strategies to keep costs down while not sacrificing quality
Senior Leadership, Major UK House Builder & Contractor (Invited)

11.40am
Case Study: Development in Existing Towns and Cities vs. New Towns

Understand the balancing between urban regeneration with new communities to meet demand
Explore the complexities of land availability, infrastructure costs, community impact, and sustainability
Exploring strategic trade-offs and best practices
12.10pm
Questions & Answers

12.10pm
Lunch

1.20pm
Breakout Networking

2.00pm
Case Study: Green belt developments and the forgotten stakeholder: Nature

Appreciate the difficulties in identifying suitable areas for house building
Hear how ‘Grey belt’ development may alleviate pressures on greenbelt without impacting natural beauty
Appreciate concerns of local residents and their views with respect to new developments near & on greenbelt land.
2.30pm
Case Study: Accelerating infrastructure to enable housebuilding

Understand that house building targets mean very little without the requisite infrastructure to support them
Hear how infrastructure proposals can also contribute to natural spaces and net-zero targets
Learn of the economic benefits of large scale infrastructure projects, both in the near & long term
Vanessa Strange, Head of Infrastructure Investment, Lincolnshire County Council (Invited)

3.00pm
Questions & Answers

3.20
Comfort Break

3.40pm
Case Study: Enhancing Community Engagement to overcome NIMBYism

Hear how engaging the local community leads to lessened community resistance
Learn best practice to obtain stakeholder engagement and social value
Realise additional value for communities by integrating suggestions & ideas
4.00pm
Case Study: Supporting Affordable and Social Housing Initiatives

Addressing the growing demand for affordable and social housing
Exploring funding mechanisms and government incentives
Ensuring inclusivity and accessibility in housing developments
Senior leader from the Mayor of London’s ‘Affordable Housing Programme’ (Invited)

4.20pm
Questions & Answers

4.40pm
Chairs Closing Remarks

5.00pm
Conference Close