Planning committees – a new national scheme of delegation

One of the Government’s key proposals for speeding up planning applications is to reduce the number of applications that are determined by planning committee. Following the Government’s working paper back in February 2025, we now finally have draft Regulations to facilitate a national scheme of delegation.

The Regulations provide for a two-tiered system:

1. Applications that must be determined by officers – these are set out in Schedule 1 of the Regulations and include: householder applications, minor commercial applications, minor residential applications (i.e. for less than 10 dwellings), non-material amendment applications; a section 73 application which seeks to amend a an application that would fit within the categories identified in Schedule 1; certificate of lawfulness applications; and reserved matter applications which do not relate to a scheme which permits 500 or more dwellings or provides for floorspace of 50,000sqm or more.  These schemes cannot be referred to committee (unless the application was made by the authority / the authority has an interest in the application).
2. Applications that may be determined by a committee or an officer – these are set out in Schedule 2 of the Regulations and include: applications for listed building consent; a section 73 application which seeks to amend a an application that would fit within the categories identified in Schedule 2; and reserved matter applications for large schemes (as identified above).

The Regulations detail that a local planning authority may nominate a member of the authority and an officer to act respectively as a “nominated member” and a “nominated officer”, who can then agree to refer a Schedule 2 application to a committee if the application proposes “one or more issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area” or “one or more significant planning matters having regard to the development plan and any other material considerations”.

It’s notable that, since the Government issued its draft guidance, it has widened the scope of Schedule 1 – to include the reserved matter applications and section 73 applications identified above.  This is helpful; a blanket restriction on returning these applications to Committee can only help speed up delivery. 

Although, there is currently a small percentage of schemes which do not gain the support of officers (for example due to their view of the level of harm to heritage assets) but which are determined positively after call in by members. That will not be possible for Schedule 1 schemes, and applicants will be faced with the choice of either appealing or amending their proposals. Given the increased powers of officers, it will be interesting to see how relationships between members and officers evolve. 

Large outline schemes will still be caught under Schedule 2.  However, the Government has issued Guidance which states that the overriding presumption is that applications listed in Schedule 2 will be delegated to officers.  

The Guidance goes onto explain what circumstances may justify whether a Schedule 2 application can be referred to committee. In terms of “issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area”, it gives the following examples: 

• an application for outline planning permission for a large multi-phase residential development allocated in the local plan;
• an application for planning permission for change of use of a community shop in a rural area; and
• an application for planning permission or listed building consent for changes to a notable listed building in a town centre.

It’s likely therefore that the bulk of large outline applications for housing schemes will be dealt with at committee. 

The Guidance details that the following circumstances are unlikely to meet the threshold of raising a “significant planning matter”: 

• where the application broadly complies with a detailed site allocation and other relevant policies; and
• where a specific planning matter (e.g. highways or flood risk) was initially raised by a statutory consultee as a concern, but the development proposal has been modified to make it acceptable in the view of the statutory consultee (unless the nominated officer has compelling reasons to consider otherwise).

It’s certainly welcome that the Government acknowledges that applications for development of allocated sites should be dealt with by officers where they comply with policy, but it remains to be seen how this will work in practice and the extent to which members expect oversight of larger, locally unpopular applications in particular – notwithstanding their allocation. Whilst the Guidance does states that a referral to committee should only take place “exceptionally”, ultimately, these tests are subjective.

The new system may help reduce delays– including by removing some of the criteria in local schemes of delegation (for example, where a certain number of objections can sometimes be sufficient for a committee referral) and ensuring that minor and medium sized applications are dealt with by officers. Where Schedule 2 applies, there may still be short term delay where the nominated member and officer agree how the application is to be determined.  The Guidance confirms that an authority may put in place their own arrangements for how the consideration of cases for referral to committee will operate in practice, even going as far as suggesting a triage system so that members/officers are not overwhelmed by the number of referrals. We will have to see how authorities adapt to the new system.

The Regulations will come into effect on 31 October to give authorities time over the summer to amend their constitutions as necessary.