Introduction
In this blog post, we discuss the Government’s recently published consultation on proposed reforms to planning committees and also its final package of emergency measures to support housing delivery in London
Planning committee reforms
On 26 March 2026, the Government published a consultation on draft Regulations and guidance underpinning the Government’s proposed reforms to planning committees originally provided for under the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. It covers the delegation of planning decisions to officers and the size of planning committees
The consultation documents including draft Regulations can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/planning-committee-reform-draft-regulations-and-guidance
The reforms propose a National Scheme of Delegation to replace the current system whereby each local planning authority (LPA) decides which planning applications go to committee and which are delegated to planning officers. All LPAs will be required to update their constitutions to align with the new National Scheme of Delegation
Regulation 4 of the draft Regulations requires decisions ontypes of applications that are set out in Schedule 1 of the draft Regulations to be delegated to officers. These include for example householder applications, minor residential and commercial applications, s96A applications, certificates of lawfulness applications, applications for prior approval and applications to discharge planning conditions
Regulation 5 of the draft Regulations gives LPAs the ability to refer decisions on the types of application that are set out in Schedule 2 of the draft Regulations to a committee, including for example major residential and commercial applications, s73 applications, listed building consent applications, TPO applications, and advertisement consent applications. This referral is subject to the nominated officer and nominated member agreeing to this. In their agreement they must have concluded that the proposal raises:
- one or more issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area
- one or more significant planning matters having regard to the development plan and any other material consideration
Regarding the size of LPA planning committees, the Government proposes that these be limited to 13 members
Final package of emergency measures to support London housing delivery
In our October blog post (https://planningclaritylegal.co.uk/2025/10/27/housing-delivery-london/) we first discussed the Government’s proposed emergency package of measures to support housing delivery in London set out in its policy paper published at the time for consultation. This consultation has since ended and on 25 March 2025 the Government published a policy note discussing the final package of emergency measures it will seek to implement which can be found at this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-housebuilding-in-london-package-of-support
In summary, the final package of emergency measures comprise the following:
(1) A new time-limited planning route, enabling developers to secure permission without a viability assessment where they commit to at least 20 percent social and affordable housing. The route will be open to applications submitted and validated by 31 March 2028. The Late Stage gain-share mechanism has also been replaced by an Early Stage Review – aligning directly with the GLA’s current Fast Track Route – with no further reviews required beyond this
(2) Temporary partial relief from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for eligible schemes, with higher levels of relief for schemes providing more than 20 per cent social and affordable housing. This relief will apply to eligible schemes commencing before 31 March 2030
(3) The removal of elements of London Plan Guidance that, as currently applied, can constrain density – including standards relating to dual aspect and units around the core and amendments to cycle storage requirements
(4) Expanding the Mayor’s planning call-in powers – with the Government bringing forward secondary legislation immediately so new powers come into effect in May. This builds on wider action being taken through the English Devolution Community Empowerment Bill to give mayors the powers they need to accelerate housing delivery and economic growth
Our comments
The Government’s proposed reforms to LPA planning committees including limiting the size of these committees and introducing a National Scheme of Delegation providing which types of applications must be delegated to officers overhauls a cumbersome and uncertain existing system where LPAs currently determine which applications go to committee which are far too many and typically for political reasons which leads to unnecessary delay in the determination of what are in many cases straightforward planning applications. We therefore welcome these reforms which should make a material difference in practice to improve the timing for LPAs determining many applications
With housebuilding in London and indeed the United Kingdom as a whole currently well behind the Government’s target of building 1.5 million homes, we also welcome the emergency measures to support the delivery of more housing in London which in our view are well overdue. We would recommend to our developer clients with unimplemented existing housing development schemes in London with high levels of affordable housing provision to evaluate whether they might be able to obtain a ‘better deal’ in terms of affordable housing provision going forward (by either varying this existing provision or submitting a new scheme) and in this respect we expect to see a significant increase in the number of deeds of variations to section 106 agreements which come across our desk and please let us know if any of our lawyers can be of any assistance with this
Note: all comments and views expressed in this blog are merely opinions and provided for information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice which can be relied upon. Should you require legal advice on a matter then please contact us
