Current Status: Following recent public comments by Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed, the UK Government has reaffirmed its commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament under the Build baby build mission. In London, delivery is now constrained less by intent and more by planning throughput, infrastructure sequencing and construction capacity under the post-Building Safety Act operating model.

Build baby build is more than just a slogan. It’s about giving more people a secure roof over their head and a stable future to lay roots.

That was the message from Steve Reed when speaking to Victoria Spratt on BBC Radio 4, setting out why the Government is, in his words, pulling every lever to build 1.5 million homes and fix the housing crisis.

 

Since his appointment as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in September 2025, Reed has been positioned deliberately as a delivery-focused minister, tasked with turning headline targets into executable outcomes. 

 

His move from DEFRA into one of Whitehall’s most powerful domestic portfolios was widely seen as strategic: placing a minister with operational experience and London governance background at the centre of the government’s growth agenda. Reed now carries direct responsibility for the 1.5 million homes target, planning reform and oversight of the Building Safety Regulator, while also steering significant council funding settlements intended to stabilise local delivery capacity. 

 

Crucially for London, his prior leadership of Lambeth Council and his role as a London MP give him first-hand understanding of planning friction, housing need and borough-level constraints. His recent actions, from progressing the Planning and Infrastructure Act to signalling stronger intervention in underperforming areas, reflect an approach that prioritises system throughput and delivery realism. 

 

Whether the ambition succeeds will depend on many factors, but Reed’s focus on aligning planning, funding and regulatory enforcement marks a serious attempt to move housing policy from aspiration to execution.

London Construction Magazine welcomes the clarity of ambition. For London’s construction and development sector, however, the critical question is not whether the objective is right (it is) but how that ambition translates into real, deliverable housing output within a system now defined by tighter planning controls, infrastructure constraints and statutory building safety approvals.  

This article examines what Build baby build practically means for London: where delivery friction sits, why timelines matter more than targets, and how capacity (not political intent) will ultimately determine outcomes.

Why the ambition resonates and why London is the stress test

The Government’s housing mission speaks directly to long-standing affordability and security challenges. London is where that challenge is most acute and where delivery complexity is greatest.

High land values, dense urban form, multi-layered planning governance and a concentration of higher-risk buildings mean that London does not respond to housing targets in the same way as lower-density regions. If large-scale delivery can be achieved in the capital while maintaining safety, quality and long-term operability, it sets a benchmark for the rest of England.

The historical reality: announcements versus delivery timelines

Evidence from previous UK housing programmes shows a consistent gap between political announcements and meaningful delivery. Post-war New Towns, the 2007 Eco-Towns programme and later Garden Community initiatives all demonstrate that large-scale housing typically requires a long lead-in before volume completions are achieved.

For schemes exceeding 5,000 homes, historical data shows that it can take 10–15 years from announcement to sustained delivery, even where government backing is strong. The constraint is rarely construction speed alone; it is land assembly, infrastructure provision, planning certainty and market absorption.

The 2026 friction layer: why delivery physics have changed

The modern London delivery environment adds new layers that did not exist in earlier housing cycles. The Building Safety Act, Gateway 2 approvals, enhanced overheating standards (Part O) and emerging occupant-hazard obligations now sit directly on the critical path.

As a result, speed to site in 2026 is increasingly a function of evidence readiness rather than construction capacity alone. Incomplete design coordination, unclear dutyholder responsibility or weak Golden Thread data can delay projects by months (sometimes years) regardless of political urgency.

LCM navigation: BSR Gateway 2 Update for London Projects  |  London Construction After 2026: The New Operating Model

Delivery capacity: the quiet constraint behind housing targets

Even with planning reform and pro-growth rhetoric, output cannot rise without delivery capacity. In London, the limiting factor is not simply labour numbers, but the availability of competent supervision, technical assurance, temporary works control and compliant handover management across complex schemes.

This aligns with wider industry evidence that the UK construction sector’s biggest challenge heading into 2026 is not demand, but capability, particularly in regulated roles where errors carry statutory and financial consequences.

LCM navigation: The Biggest Problem Facing UK Construction in 2026

What Build baby build needs to mean in London

For London, translating ambition into completions requires alignment across five fronts:

• Planning certainty to reduce redesign cycles and stalled consents.
• Infrastructure sequencing that brings power, water and transport forward, not after housing.
• Building control throughput that rewards coherent, complete submissions.
• Competent delivery capacity across supervision, QA and specialist trades.
• Contract models that reflect statutory obligations, not legacy assumptions.

LCM verdict

Steve Reed is right to frame housing as a foundation for stability and opportunity. The ambition behind Build baby build is clear and the need is unquestionable.

In London, however, delivery will be judged not by targets announced but by systems aligned. Housing ambition is not the problem. Delivery capacity is.

If planning certainty, infrastructure investment and building safety throughput move together, London can contribute meaningfully to national housing goals. If they do not, the capital will remain the clearest indicator of where aspiration has outpaced execution. 

 

image:  x.com/SteveReedMP

Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist