The Welsh Government published the final recommendations of its Affordable Housing Taskforce, setting out proposals aimed at unlocking stalled developments, increasing the delivery of social housing, and accelerating private homebuilding across Wales.
The Taskforce, chaired by Lee Waters MS and announced by Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government Jayne Bryant MS in late 2024, was established to address growing concerns over housing supply.
With Wales recording one of the lowest levels of new home delivery in recent years, the Taskforce focused on two core strands: resolving short-term barriers to development and making long-term system changes to support the delivery of homes for social rent.
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) played a key role in informing the work of the Taskforce. HBF submitted detailed written evidence, took part in two formal meetings with the Taskforce, and contributed to a sector-led report, Delivering Homes Through Planning Reform: A Collaborative Roadmap,, which was presented to the Taskforce in March 2025. Both contributions influenced the final recommendations, which include a number of HBF’s proposals aimed at reducing delays and improving coordination across the housing delivery system.
HBF highlighted the scale of private sector involvement in delivering affordable housing in our Written Evidence submission. Between 2021 and 2023, 45% of affordable homes in Wales were delivered through Section 106 agreements, most of which were led by private developers. HBF warned that economic and policy constraints are currently reducing the number of viable development sites, which in turn impacts the ability to deliver affordable homes through planning obligations.
HBF also identified specific operational issues causing delays. These included under-resourced planning departments, lengthy negotiations on Section 106 legal agreements, and bottlenecks at later stages, such as the discharge of planning conditions, highways technical approvals, and the SAB (Sustainable Drainage Approval Body) process. HBF recommended that short-term action should focus on existing planning or SAB applications that are capable of being progressed quickly.
Among the key recommendations adopted by the Taskforce is a proposal that land identified as suitable for housing in a Local Development Plan (LDP) should benefit from a presumption in favour of development. The report argues that too many hurdles are currently placed in the way of development and recommends moving toward a 'Permission in Principle' system once land has been approved in the LDP. This would require a change to primary legislation.
Other Affordable Housing Taskforce recommendations included streamlining planning and approval processes by encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration, standardising agreements, and using delegated powers more effectively. It also calls for refining viability models for Wales, aligning thresholds with other UK nations, and improving coordination between planning and SAB applications.
Cabinet Secretary Jayne Bryant, MS has confirmed that an implementation group will now be formed to deliver the recommendations. She stated that her officials have been instructed to establish the group with representation from across the sector and that the group will report back regularly on progress. She added that she will accept the recommendations that fall within her remit.
In response to the publication of the report, Mark Harris, Planning and Policy Advisor for Wales, at Home Builders Federation said: “HBF welcomes the report and several of its recommendations, which will also help speed up the delivery of much-needed private homes in Wales, as well as the affordable homes for rent.
“We would also welcome the opportunity to be part of the implementation group and help deliver as many of the recommendations as possible.”
