Unlocking the £9bn Already Sitting in the System

Every so often a report comes out that makes you stop and think. The latest HBF analysis is one of those moments.

• £9bn sitting unspent

• £3bn held for more than five years

• £2bn allocated for schools

• £700m set aside for affordable homes

These numbers are not alarming to me. They are energising. They show how much potential is already in the system and how much can be turned into real schools, real homes and real community benefit.

One line in the report stood out:

“There is a growing mismatch between the contributions councils hold and the timely delivery of new infrastructure and community amenities.”

Anyone who works in planning or development will recognise that. And for me, this is not about blame. Local authority teams are full of people who care deeply about getting good projects delivered. The real challenge is capacity. The system has grown heavier every year while the teams expected to carry it have shrunk.

But the positive part is this: the money is there. It does not rely on a new funding round or a policy change. It is already collected, already allocated and already intended to support communities.

So instead of asking why it has not been spent, the better question is:

How do we help councils spend it faster, spend it smarter and spend it in a way people can actually feel on the ground?

From what we see at Axo, the solutions are practical and achievable. They are not complicated. They are things we know can work:

• clearer and more realistic phasing and delivery plans

• proper monitoring resource so teams are not buried in spreadsheets

• early collaboration between developers and councils before issues harden

• transparent tracking that everyone can see and trust

• freeing up stretched planning teams so projects do not stall in process

  
  

If we get these basics right, we unlock new schools, new community facilities, more affordable homes and stronger neighbourhoods. And we do it without waiting for new money. The funding is already in the system.

For me, that is the opportunity. And it is significant.

If you are a council, a developer or an advisor who wants to turn that £9bn into real outcomes for communities, we would be happy to talk.

Read the report here: