By Maria Sinclair, Managing Director, Cobalt Recruitment UK
As we move further into 2026, the Government’s ambitions to accelerate housebuilding face a reality that cannot be solved by policy alone. Our latest Development Index reveals a sector under immense pressure, from tightening viability to planning delays, but perhaps the most urgent and least addressed challenge is one of people. Put simply, the development ecosystem no longer has the skills and capacity to deliver the homes and infrastructure the country needs. Until that changes, the target of 1.5 million new homes by 2030, and the expectations for 2026 are arguably at risk of being missed.
Confidence down, pressure up
Our study shows that industry leader’s sentiment has plummeted. Almost all leaders described confidence entering 2026 as ‘low’ or ‘very low’, driven by economic uncertainty, costly financing and shrinking viability – despite funding being available for certain schemes.
Meanwhile, planning delays persist despite the rise in applications. Approvals have fallen 11% year-on-year, and although AI-enabled processing and the updated NPPF may offer medium‑term improvements, Gateway 2 legislation alone is adding an average of 26 weeks to already strained timelines. A system already overstretched continues to slow at the very moment we need it to accelerate.
But buried in these structural issues is a quieter crisis with far deeper consequences.
A labour market at breaking point
For all the friction caused by financing and planning, the most significant barrier to delivery is the widening skills gap. The UK simply does not have enough of the right professionals to push schemes through the development lifecycle. If we look across the many remits within planning and development, it’s clear that this is a fairly widespread problem.
Town Planning: The acute bottleneck
Our analysis suggests that Town Planning remains one of the hardest areas to recruit into. Both public and private sectors are struggling to attract and retain experienced planners who can navigate increasingly complex local plans, tighter viability conditions, ESG and Future Homes Standard compliance, and politically sensitive stakeholder landscapes.
Planning has become more strategic, more commercial, and more regulated, and this demand is pushing salaries to unviable levels for some, which will only result in notable fee hikes in the private sector, in particular.
Land & Strategic Land: A demand for hybrid thinkers
Demand is also soaring for Land and Strategic Land professionals with a rare blend of commercial judgement, political understanding and technical due diligence. The market no longer rewards pure ‘deal finders’. Instead, employers need individuals who can rigorously stress-test sites against infrastructure constraints, evolving policy, ESG requirements, long-term promotion strategies and increasingly volatile cost assumptions. These hybrid thinkers are in short supply, but are increasingly essential.
Development roles: From specialists to all-rounders
Development Managers and Directors now sit at the centre of the greatest skills tension of all: balancing commercial acumen, design understanding, political awareness and an ability to manage risk earlier in the pipeline.
Employers want individuals who can shape projects holistically, from land and planning through to funding and delivery. The rise of AI in early-stage appraisals means candidates must now combine digital fluency with strategic judgement. That combination is still relatively rare.
Construction, Cost and Commercial: Talent shortages pushing up prices
On the delivery side, shortages in Commercial, Cost and Construction leadership roles are pushing salaries up and slowing programme certainty. The industry continues to rely heavily on interim hires to maintain momentum because permanent recruitment has become increasingly challenging and expensive.
More than an HR problem
This skills crisis isn’t an HR issue; it’s a housebuilding one. Without enough Planners, Development Managers, technical specialists and delivery professionals, the UK cannot meet its housing targets, no matter how strong the policy intentions may be.
Strengthening local authority planning teams will help with this. A well‑resourced public sector underpins the entire system, and while new AI tools will help streamline processes, they cannot replace experienced planners who understand policy, viability and political nuance. Targeted recruitment, training and retention strategies are essential to restoring certainty and reducing delays.
The UK also needs a modernised skills pipeline that produces adaptable, commercially aware professionals. Universities, industry bodies and employers must work together to develop talent with the blend of technical, digital and strategic skills required across the development lifecycle. Employers increasingly need hybrid thinkers rather than siloed specialists.
Creating a more flexible and attractive career landscape will also widen the talent pool. At a recent ‘Spotlight on the Skills Gap’ event, RICS confirmed that they’re looking to make pathways between land, planning, development, technical and delivery roles more fluid, so to help retain people who might otherwise leave the sector due to limited progression opportunities. How this trickles down into the practicalities of roles in the sector will be incredibly interesting.
Finally, greater collaboration between the public and private sectors is critical. Joint ventures, shared planning resources, and coordinated programmes can relieve pressure where capacity is most stretched. The challenges are too substantial for any single entity to solve alone; meaningful progress will depend on partnership, shared expertise and a united focus on delivery.
Focusing on the right targets
Meeting national housing targets requires more than ambition. It requires people. Until we rebuild capacity in planning, land, development and delivery, the gap between Government expectation and industry reality will continue to widen. If we want 2026 to be the year the market turns a corner, we must start by rebuilding the workforce that underpins the entire development lifecycle. Only then will policy and ambition meet delivery on the ground.
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