UK manufacturers have warned that delays and complexity in the planning system are holding back investment in factory automation, digital manufacturing, and low-carbon production technologies, according to a new survey by Make UK.
The industry body said nearly half of manufacturers believe the planning system is constraining the UK’s economic potential, while 43% report it is directly slowing their ability to grow or invest. Only 14% say it actively supports growth.
Manufacturers said the impact is most visible not in cancelled projects, but in delayed or more expensive investment decisions, including upgrades to production facilities and the rollout of advanced manufacturing systems such as robotics, automated assembly lines, and energy-efficient industrial controls.
Make UK said the findings highlight a structural barrier to industrial modernisation at a time when manufacturers are expected to drive productivity growth, regional development, and decarbonisation.
“The current system is not fit for purpose and is too often a source of friction rather than a driver of growth,” said Faye Skelton, head of policy and campaigns at Make UK. She added that while government planning reforms are under way, manufacturers continue to experience a gap between policy intent and real-world delivery.
At the centre of industry concerns is the complexity of planning regulation. The survey of 196 companies, carried out between 20 March and 10 April, found that 48% of manufacturers cite regulatory complexity as the biggest barrier, followed by 44% pointing to compliance costs, and 38% highlighting inconsistent decisions across local authorities.
Industry executives said this combination creates a system that is expensive to navigate, slow to process, and unpredictable in outcome, making it harder to justify large-scale capital investment in automation and facility upgrades.
More than two thirds of respondents said coordinated regional planning would make it easier to expand operations, while 65% backed stronger strategic or mayoral powers to improve land use decisions and align infrastructure with industrial priorities.
The findings come as the government pursues planning reform through its Planning and Infrastructure Bill, with ministers arguing that faster approvals are essential to unlock growth and accelerate infrastructure development.
Manufacturers, however, are calling for more radical changes. Make UK is urging ministers to introduce what it calls a “Manufacturing Growth Test” to assess whether reforms are reducing cost, complexity, and uncertainty for investment decisions linked to expansion and decarbonisation.
The organisation also wants strategic manufacturing projects to be fast-tracked, alongside efforts to cut application costs and reduce variation in decision-making between planning authorities.
A further recommendation is to “end postcode planning”, which industry leaders argue creates inconsistent outcomes depending on location, adding risk to long-term investment decisions.
Environmental regulation was also identified as a source of friction. More than half of manufacturers said environmental requirements occasionally create obstacles in planning, while 14% said they face such barriers frequently. Make UK pointed to high-profile cases, including reported costs associated with environmental protections on major infrastructure projects, as evidence of increasing complexity in approvals.
Industry figures argue that such constraints can have unintended consequences for decarbonisation efforts, particularly where firms are seeking to electrify production processes or invest in low-carbon technologies that require new infrastructure approvals.
Make UK said the cumulative effect of these issues is not only to delay investment, but to increase the cost of upgrading facilities, even when projects ultimately proceed. It warned that this is eroding the viability of some investments in advanced manufacturing capacity.
The organisation represents around 20,000 companies across engineering, manufacturing, and technology sectors, ranging from start-ups to multinationals.
The debate comes at a critical moment for UK industry, as manufacturers attempt to increase adoption of automation and digital production systems to remain competitive internationally. Industry analysts say that while capital investment remains available in many sectors, regulatory uncertainty can slow deployment timelines and reduce returns on investment in automation-heavy facilities.
Make UK argues that without faster and more predictable planning decisions, the UK risks falling behind in the global shift towards automated, low-carbon manufacturing.
