It’s hard to go far in the sector at the moment without having a conversation about viability and regulations. With construction in the doldrums – the sector has been shrinking since the start of 2025 according to purchasing managers data – many firmly point the finger at the diminishing returns to be gained from development.

In response to all this, the Conservative Party at its recent annual party conference promised a bonfire of regulations, which it said would boost economic growth and deliver new jobs and investment.

This included abolishing the requirement for biodiversity net gain, alongside nature quangos Natural England and the Environment Agency, and scrapping the introduction of the Future Homes Standard. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the measures together would take £50k off the price of a house.

The party might is unlikely to be in a position to implement this any time soon, but it clearly senses an opportunity to be seen to be backing development by taking the viability crunch in construction seriously.

The question for the sector is not so much whether these specific proposals will work – they aren’t about to be brought in – but whether deregulating in this way for growth represents an approach that the industry should be pushing government and its agencies to embrace as a way out of the current crisis.

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