Reflections on ‘Abundance’: UK Housing, Planning Regulation and Speculative Production

The Abundance agenda has drawn attention to the problems of regulatory systems prioritizing processes over outcomes and potentially failing to support the development of essential infrastructure, including new housing. Whilst this problem has been seen in the UK, with some development projects struggling to navigate the politics of local planning, this commentary argues that the major impediments to building the housing that the UK actually needs are, firstly, an over‐reliance on speculative building, and a corresponding lack of diversity in the UK's housing production model, and secondly, an under‐resourcing of public planning. The UK urgently needs a more mixed ecosystem of housing delivery, and greater support for non‐profit public and social providers who can bridge the gap between market demand and broader housing need.