Category:
Pipeline
Published On:
25 Feb 2026
Planda Portal Team
The Pipeline - Issue 01: Wind, Walls, and What's Next
Welcome to The Pipeline, your new favourite read about what's actually happening in UK planning and design.
Here's the thing: everyone talks about building more homes, delivering net-zero, and fixing the planning system. But what's actually getting built? What's working? What's stuck? And where are the architects doing genuinely exciting work despite all the constraints?
That's what we're here for.
Each edition brings you two perspectives on the same system:
Build, Baby, Build is where Amber Spencer uses our planning data to show you what's actually moving through the system. When ministers promise 1.5 million homes or renewable energy revolutions, she reveals whether it's reality or just headlines.
Built Different is where Celia Pearson showcases the architects turning awkward plots into stunning homes. Sustainability that's built-in, not bolted on. Clever design that works with constraints, not against them. No boring boxes allowed.
Architecture and analytics. Vision and reality. The projects that inspire and the data that keeps it real.
Whether you're an architect, planner, developer, or just someone curious about how the UK's built environment actually happens - welcome, you're exactly who we're writing for.
Let's dive in!
Scotland's Wind Farm Boom: The Data Behind the Headlines
Hi, I’m Amber Spencer, and I’ll be writing about industry news and updates, using our decision-level planning data to analyse and make sense of current planning trends! I’ll be focusing on major infrastructure and residential projects across the UK, and what they reveal about the state of the planning system.
My column’s title - Build, Baby, Build - is a nod to the Housing Secretary, Steve Reed’s recent CTA to get the UK on the right track of building 1.5 million homes. Ministers are promising sweeping planning reforms, investment to unlock stalled development, and new legislative measures to accelerate delivery. But do these ambitions show up in the data? That’s something we’ll be picking apart. Build, Baby, Build will also touch upon broader trends shaping planning beyond policy, from market behaviour and delivery constraints to local decision-making patterns.
This week’s column will discuss the large-scale development of wind farms in the Scottish Highlands, and whether this reflects the Government’s ramped-up drive towards renewable energy sources.
Scottish Highland wind farms
The Scottish Highlands have become one of the UK’s most popular spots for wind energy development. With consistent wind resources, expansive coast and offshore areas, and proximity to deep-water sites, the region is increasingly seen as strategically well-placed to support the UK’s transition to net-zero by 2050. The UK Government’s immediate removal of the onshore wind ban in 2024 and introduction of the clean power plan shows a crackdown on delivering renewable energy generation. The Scottish Government is notoriously supportive of wind development policies, with our data showing a total of 1,679 wind-related applications receiving planning approval in 2025. This positions the Highlands as a hotspot for future schemes.
The West of Orkney Windfarm
The West of Orkney wind farm is a major proposal to install 125 offshore wind turbines around 30km west of the Orkney mainland and approximately 25km from the north Sutherland coast. The windfarm is expected to begin generating power in 2030, with its 2 GW capacity capable of supplying electricity to the equivalent of more than 2 million homes. This is the first ScotWind backed-project to receive both offshore and onshore planning consent, marking a milestone for the next generation of sweeping offshore development in the area. Highland council’s wind turbine map shows the sheer size of the project in comparison to nearby onshore farms.
Validated in October 2023, this project wasn’t approved until June 2025, experiencing a substantial consultation period in between. I was really intrigued to find a concern filed regarding the safety of diadromous fish, emphasising the wide nature of risks these major infrastructure projects can cause! Despite these considerations, the West of Orkney Windfarm has been given the green light by Scottish ministers, contributing, in my view, to a broader, joint government effort to accelerate the rollout of sustainable development.
Through an analysis of our planning data, I found that the 2 largest proposals to have been validated in the UK in November are also set to be constructed in the Scottish Highlands.
Ruith Cnoc Wind Farm
The Ruith Cnoc Wind Farm proposal was recently validated on 25 November 2025 for the construction of 42 turbines, which, if approved, will cover an extensive area of 14.7km². The site is located in Ardgay and consists of moorland and commercial forestry. The wind farm is proposed to have a 0.5 GW capacity, generating enough electricity to power around 500,000 homes, if we go off the West of Orkney conversion.
Woodcock Hill Wind Farm
Validated on 20 November 2025, the Woodcock Hill wind farm application has a proposed size of roughly 10.2km², and is currently in the committee stage. Ørsted are hoping to build 11 wind turbines to help power the National Grid, with a direct goal of helping the government achieve their 95% low-carbon energy generation by 2030.
What does this tell us about renewable energy rollout?
As per our analysis, between the period of September-December 2023, 43 wind farms in Scotland were validated and 20 approved. When we applied the same search for September-December 2025, we found that 46 had been validated and only 10 approved.
The data points to a broader planning reality: ambition moves faster than delivery. Strong policy support does not translate into immediate approvals. While renewable energy policy is clearly heading in a swifter direction under the Labour government, approval rates have yet to catch up, reflecting the long timelines and complexity built into the planning system. In this context, momentum is best seen in the scale of proposals entering the pipeline. The conclusion? Planning reform is taking time to show up in outcomes.
5 UK Homes That Actually Get It Right
Hi, I’m Celia Pearson, and today I’ll be talking about some recent projects from across the UK which I think are really cool. Obviously cool is a very vague word… but the architects for these projects have really stood out to me for their innovation - whether that be working around the expensive and sluggish property market in London, dealing with space constraints, or even building a house to reflect the life of the person living in it.
Catching Sun House
Catching Sun House is a home in Walthamstow that was shaped directly by the challenges of its site. From the drawings, you can see how tightly caged in the house is, positioned on a long, awkward urban plot and barely visible from the road. StudioShaw leaned into these constraints rather than fighting them. The house is made up of simple, low-energy rooms connected by glass courtyards, blurring the line between inside and out. It’s also built from durable, low-maintenance materials and designed to run without gas. I think the Catching Sun House is a perfect example of sustainability being quietly built into everyday living rather than being treated as an add-on or creating something overly technical.
Twin House
Twin House is a family home in Hackney that’s designed to literally reflect the people living in it. The two side-by-side gables look like two houses coming together, reflecting the architect Graeme Williamson and his wife Melanie’s lives merging into one home. The interior of the house is flipped upside down, with living spaces upstairs to maximise light and height, and bedrooms below. As Williamson put it, “the form of the house acknowledges the natural duality of the family unit.” Because he designed it for himself, I love how the concept feels genuinely personal rather than purely aesthetic.
Hope Villa Extension, London — Proctor & Shaw
Hope Villa is a Peckham terrace that we think has been upgraded in a really creative way, giving the house a much greater sense of space. Proctor & Shaw filled the small patio with a double-storey “Tower”, so that despite a small square footage, the height and glass windows to the garden made this heart of the home feel light and spacious. Sustainability is built-in throughout the project, from the all-timber frame and low-carbon materials to the rainwater reuse, providing habitats for wildlife. You can really see the attention to detail in Proctor & Shaw’s drawings, including how the flat roof helps create a richer, greener garden. I think it’s a clever take on sustainability and limited space that feels practical and can lead to really innovative residential design.
Iorram, Plockton - Baillie Baillie Architects
Iorram, created by Baillie Baillie architects, was inspired by traditional Scottish cottages found in the Highlands, many of which date back to the 18th century. Because of this, Iorram is built almost entirely from natural materials, leaning into local craftsmanship through its clay block walls and use of Douglas fir throughout.* We love how Baillie purposefully kept the timber’s imperfections: “a crack along the grain or a knot only adds to its sense of being a natural material – an old tree that's now part of a house.” The simplicity of Iorram is perfectly captured in Baillie’s drawings, and even with such a small footprint (409 square feet), has really stood out to me for its authenticity to its Scottish roots.
Hazelmead co-housing, Barefoot Architects
Hazelmead is the UK’s largest co-housing scheme, created in Dorset by Barefoot Architects. Made up of 53 affordable homes, the scheme uses car-free streets, shared gardens and pedestrian routes to encourage everyday interaction between neighbours. This design really stood out to me for how it’s deliberately designed around people rather than cars. Hazelmead aims to tackle the local housing shortage (where average house prices exceed 11 times the average local income) while creating a genuinely sociable place to live. I love how simple design choices, like removing cars from the streets, completely change how the space feels, making it calmer, greener and far more community-focused.
Ready to see what's next?
Got a project we should feature? A planning trend you want us to dig into? Contact us here - we're listening!
And if this landed in your inbox from a colleague, subscribe to our newsletter to get The Pipeline delivered straight to you.
See you in the next one!
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
