by Jennifer Adler-Potts, WBC ESG in Property & Construction Network Director
The publication of two major national reports last week in parallel, the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee report on the Building Safety Regulator and Homes England’s Strategic Plan 2025 to 2030, should mark a defining moment for housing delivery in London.
The House of Lords Committee is unequivocal in its assessment. Delays within the Building Safety Regulator are described as “unacceptable”, with the report warning that they are leaving residents waiting for remediation, increasing costs for leaseholders and putting the government’s ambition of delivering 1.5 million new homes at risk.
Homes England’s Strategic Plan, published at the same time, sets out a clear ambition to accelerate housing supply, unlock institutional investment and deliver at scale through deeper collaboration with local leaders.
Taken together, these reports articulate both the scale of ambition and the reality of the blockage. What connects them is not policy intent, but delivery. And in London, delivery is where the system is under the greatest strain.
“We must move from scrutiny to delivery, from aspiration to action, and from siloed debate to shared responsibility.”
At Westminster Business Council, this convergence of scrutiny and strategy feels familiar. In June, we convened senior leaders from across development, construction, regulation, investment and professional services at the Palace of Westminster to examine precisely these issues. That discussion, hosted by Lord Ranger, informed our white paper Onward and Upward: Unblocking High Rises, which explored the challenges facing higher-risk building delivery and proposed practical, constructive solutions rooted in industry experience.
Many of the issues now formally acknowledged by Parliament were already being articulated clearly by those trying to deliver homes on the ground. We welcome the scrutiny. But scrutiny alone will not unblock London’s housing pipeline.
London’s stalled pipeline is not theoretical
The consequences of delay are already visible. Over the last quarter, work began on just over 1,200 affordable homes in London, a stark figure for a city of London’s size and need.
This follows similarly low quarterly starts earlier in the year and reflects a broader collapse in delivery across the capital’s affordable housing sector.
Why this matters for London
- Too few affordable homes are starting on-site
- High-density and higher-risk buildings are central to London delivery
- Gateway 2 delays disproportionately affect London schemes
- Without viable development, delivery stalls and growth follows
This is not a short-term anomaly. Planning permissions, starts and completions have fallen sharply in recent years. The result is rising homelessness, escalating temporary accommodation costs and worsening affordability across the capital.
“London’s housing challenge has become a structural constraint on growth, opportunity and social mobility.”
High-density and high-rise housing is essential if London is to meet its housing need. There is no credible route to scale without it. Yet higher-risk buildings are precisely where regulatory delay, cost escalation and uncertainty are most acute.
Consensus on safety, but viability is the real constraint
It is important to address a persistent misconception. The construction and development sector is not resisting the Building Safety Act. There is widespread acceptance that the Act is here to stay and that higher standards of safety, accountability and transparency are both necessary and overdue.
This consensus was clear at our June event. Industry voices were explicit in their support for the principle of reform, while also highlighting where implementation is undermining delivery.
“The industry is not resisting the Building Safety Act. The barrier is not will. It is viability.”
London schemes are now operating under unprecedented pressure. Labour costs have risen in a post-Brexit market. Materials inflation surged in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Financing costs increased sharply as interest rates rose. Political and fiscal uncertainty has affected investor confidence. On top of this, Gateway 2 delays are extending programmes well beyond statutory timelines, increasing risk without improving safety outcomes.
What is undermining viability
- Rising labour costs
- Inflation in construction materials
- Increased financing costs
- Extended regulatory timelines and uncertainty
- Growing Section 106, ESG and social value requirements alongside reduced public funding
Through the WBC ESG in Property and Construction Network, we strongly support higher environmental and social standards. But ambition without viability does not deliver homes.
“Ambition without viability does not deliver homes.”
Strategy without flow will not deliver homes
Homes England’s Strategic Plan rightly focuses on acceleration, partnership and institutional investment. It recognises that delivery at scale requires long-term funding, collaboration with mayors and local leaders, and a more flexible approach to unlocking sites.
However, strategy alone cannot overcome systemic friction. The House of Lords Committee is clear that delays at the Building Safety Regulator are now undermining housing delivery and risking wider economic consequences.
“Delays do not improve safety if they hold up remediation and prevent new homes from being built.”
Construction remains one of the UK’s most effective engines of economic growth. When housing stalls, growth stalls with it. London’s contribution to the national ambition of 1.5 million new homes is fundamental, but it will only materialise if regulation, funding and viability are aligned around delivery rather than aspiration alone.
A necessary shift toward realism in London
Recent developments at City Hall reflect a growing recognition of this reality. As reported by the BBC, the Mayor of London has indicated that developers may be offered fast-tracked planning applications if they commit to delivering 20 percent affordable housing, rather than the long-standing expectation of 35 percent.
This represents a significant shift and an acknowledgement that rigid targets are not translating into starts on site. It is also politically challenging.
Developers are often portrayed as greedy or excessively wealthy. That narrative obscures the reality of development as a long-term, capital-intensive and high-risk activity. Schemes can take many years from land acquisition to completion. Over that period, economics, policy, finance and technical standards can all change. Plans must flex to remain viable.
“Flexibility is not a retreat from social ambition. It is a condition for achieving it.”
Without fair compensation and a reasonable return, development does not proceed. If developers are not viable, homes are not built, supply chains are not paid and social progress stalls.
From conversation to collective action
What is striking about the past month is the convergence of messages. The system is not failing because safety standards are too high. It is failing because the pathways to compliance and delivery are too slow, too opaque and too costly.
There are encouraging signs. Engagement has improved. Government and regulators acknowledge the problem. But delivery will only follow if this realism is sustained and translated into proportionate reform.
The WBC approach
Westminster Business Council brings together corporates, SMEs and the public sector to create trusted spaces for informed, constructive conversations. Our role is to connect voices, align perspectives and help turn debate into delivery.
At Westminster Business Council, we exist to start these conversations and to provide the space for them to coalesce. Our June event and subsequent white paper did not seek to criticise for the sake of it. They sought to convene, to listen and to propose solutions grounded in practice.
We do not deliver housing ourselves. But we help create the conditions in which delivery becomes possible by bringing together industry, policymakers and communities around a shared understanding of the challenge through both our every day work and our ESG in Property & Construction Network.
As London looks toward 2026, the task is clear. We must move from scrutiny to delivery, from aspiration to action, and from fragmented debate to shared responsibility. Westminster Business Council will continue to lead these conversations and help turn them into outcomes that deliver safe, sustainable homes and renewed economic growth for London.
About the Author – Jennifer Adler-Potts
Jennifer Adler-Potts is ESG in Property and Construction Network Director at Westminster Business Council. A new and emerging voice in London’s property and construction sector, she is shaping the agenda around viability, ESG and delivery by convening industry-leading conversations that bring together developers, investors, SMEs, regulators and the public sector.
Jennifer coordinates high-profile events and roundtables, curates timely and challenging themes, and attracts senior speakers from across the built environment to address the most pressing issues facing the sector. She builds on an award-winning background in communications and creativity, applying those skills to translate complex policy and technical challenges into constructive dialogue and practical outcomes that support delivery and economic growth in London.
