Up until very recently, planning approvals and subsequent housing supply had increased significantly, with 235,000 net additions to the housing stock in 2022/23. However, as the home building industry has expanded delivery of new homes, developers have run into issues relating to the provision and adoption of utilities and infrastructure, with Section 278 and Section 38 requirements at the centre of these frustrations. Section 278 and Section 38 agreements relate to the adoption of new public highways by local authorities.

For the last decade, HBF has been imploring policy makers to pay sufficient attention to the process for adoption of roads, particularly the disproportionate impact of the risks, costs and delays on SME builders. The conflicting approaches used by highways authorities, the lack of standard timescales and the increasing costs makes it impossible for businesses to plan and deliver housing.

HBF's ‘Slow Lane to Adoption,’ examines the latest findings of HBF’s annual FOI exercise, shining a light on the inconsistent demands of different Local Authorities and rocketing costs and timescales to get roads adopted.