Planning applications: fewer councillor decisions under new rules

Planning applications in England will be decided far more often by officers than by councillors under new national rules that take effect on 31 October 2026. Ward councillors will no longer be able to ask for an application to go to committee. Neither a pile of objections nor local controversy will be enough to force a committee decision.

The changes come from the National Scheme of Delegation for Planning Functions, which Wokingham Borough Council says applies to all councils in England. Councils across the country have been rewriting their own arrangements to comply.

How local planning authority delegated decisions change in 2026

Until now, councils have had greater freedom to decide which applications go to officers and which to a planning committee, according to Wealden District Council. Many allowed an automatic referral after a councillor request or once a set number of objections arrived. Wealden says those arrangements cannot continue in their current form.

The national scheme splits applications into two groups. Schedule 1 applications must normally be decided by officers. Wealden lists householder applications, minor commercial development, certain minor residential schemes of up to nine homes on a site smaller than 0.5 hectares, many applications to discharge planning conditions, prior approval applications and certificates of lawfulness, and says its list is not the complete legal one.

Schedule 2 covers larger schemes, listed building consents, advertisement consents and work to trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order. Even here, Wealden says the national starting point is officer decision. To reach committee, an application must raise an economic, social or environmental issue of significance to the local area, or a significant planning matter. A nominated officer and a nominated councillor must also agree to refer it, and if they do not, officers decide.

Planning reform and councillor involvement: who is affected

Every planning authority in England is affected, and the rules reach back in time. Shropshire Council said they apply to any application still undetermined on or after 31 October, including those submitted or called in before that date. A case a councillor has already called to committee may therefore lose that route.

Test Valley Borough Council gives a sense of scale. Its officers reviewed five recent Northern and Southern Area Planning Committee agendas, according to the Andover Advertiser, and found about half the applications would have fallen into Schedule 1 and been barred from committee. As an illustration, on a 10-item agenda, around five items would now be decided by officers alone.

Residents who object or support are affected in a narrower way. Wealden stresses that an officer decision is not an automatic approval, and officers can refuse applications on their planning merits. Parish and town councils remain consultees, but Wealden says an objection from one will not by itself send an application to committee.

What supporters and critics say

The Government says the changes will bring "greater clarity and consistency about the role of planning committees in planning decision making" and focus them on "key proposals that matter to an area", as quoted by the Andover Advertiser. Westmorland and Furness Council said the rules are designed to speed up the planning process, resulting in fewer applications reaching committee.

Critics’ concerns are best documented in Test Valley. Its report says the council told a Government consultation that the changes could damage local democracy, because applications involving major planning issues or strong local opposition would have to be decided by officers. The report also says officers expect committee workloads to change significantly.

Councils also stress what is not changing. David Walker, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for planning, said: "The most significant change is that a local objection or call-in request will no longer create an automatic route to a planning committee." He added that people "will still be able to have their say", and that comments raising matters such as highways, flooding, heritage, ecology, residential amenity or planning policy will be carefully considered.

Planning committee restructure under the new regulations

Councils are redesigning their committees to match. Westmorland and Furness agreed at the end of September to replace four planning committees, including three local area committees, with a single 13-member committee from 31 October. Councillors heard that with many more applications classed as Schedule 1, the old structure was no longer needed. Thirteen is the maximum the rules allow, and the council said membership will reflect all areas and political balance.

Test Valley councillors were due to consider a constitution amendment on Wednesday 14 October. Shropshire will turn its existing agenda-setting process into a formal local gateway triage. It expects the number of applications reaching committee to stay relatively consistent, though fewer will reach the agenda-setting stage.

Compliance is not optional. A report to Westmorland and Furness Full Council warned that decisions taken outside the statutory scheme "may be susceptible to legal challenge", quoting Government guidance that such decisions may face judicial review. Wealden says it will publish a record of applications considered through the new gateway, with outcomes and reasons.

What to do now

If you want to influence an application, the comment stage matters more than before. Write early and keep to material planning matters, such as highway safety, flooding, heritage, ecology, residential amenity, design or conflict with planning policy. Officers must consider these before a decision, according to the councils.

Next, check which group an application falls into on your council’s website. A householder extension or small housing scheme will be decided by officers whatever the level of objection. For larger schemes, ask your ward councillor or parish council whether they intend to raise the case through the gateway, and what evidence would show it raises a significant local issue.

Finally, if an application affects you and is already live, do not assume an earlier call-in still stands. Ask the planning officer how it will be handled after 31 October.