Planning for Decline: How England's Planning System Caused the Housing Crisis

Abstract Britain's housing crisis stems primarily from the discretionary planning system introduced by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. The system, designed to limit urban growth and control the location of industrial activity, sharply curtailed housebuilding, especially in cities, with long‐term effects on housing supply, affordability and economic performance. Using historical data back to 1856, Britain's planning system can be shown to have led to decades of underbuilding and worse housing outcomes than in peer western European nations. A shift from the discretionary planning system established in 1947 towards a more rules‐based, flexible zoning system is essential to address the housing crisis, support growth and reverse Britain's relative economic decline.