Fewer Committee Hold-ups: What England's New Planning Delegation Rules Might Mean For Your Scheme

From 31 October 2026, new national rules will fundamentally change how planning decisions are made in England – with most decisions shifting from committee to officers. Here's what commercial developers need to know 

Key takeaways

• New national rules from 31 October 2026. The National Scheme of Delegation of Planning Functions (National Scheme) will come into force across England on 31 October 2026, directing which types of planning decisions should be taken by planning officers and which could be referred to committee. 
• Officer delegation is the default. Under the National Scheme, all planning decisions will be delegated to planning officers unless they relate to specific types of permissions set out in Schedule 2 of the Regulations. 
• Committee referral only by agreement. Even where an application is a Schedule 2 approval, there is an overriding presumption that it will be delegated to officers. It may only be referred to committee if the nominated officer and nominated member agree that it raises issues of significance. 
• No transitional provisions. All applications – including those already validated – will be subject to the new rules once the new regime comes into effect and by no later than 31 October 2026. 
• Act now. Developers should review live applications, monitor local authority constitution updates, and consider whether officer delegation or committee determination is strategically preferable for each scheme.

What's changing – and why it matters

The new National Scheme introduces new rules for when decisions about planning applications in England should be delegated to planning officers. The objective is straightforward: to increase certainty around decision-making processes, reduce delays, and lower the rate of appeals.

The scale of the problem is striking. As Estates Gazette reported on 16 June 2026, a third of refused planning applications are currently overturned on appeal. That statistic reflects a system in which too many decisions are being taken and then reversed, at significant cost and delay to developers.

For promoters of major schemes, the key question is not just who makes the decision, but whether the new regime will reduce the political uncertainty and delay that can affect committee decisions. 

The new legislative framework in brief

The scheme is set out in the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations), which have been published in draft and will come into force on 31 October 2026. Statutory guidance published on 1 June 2026 contains further detail on how the scheme should work in practice. 

Each local planning authority must update its constitution to comply with the National Scheme – but where a constitution conflicts with the Regulations, the Regulations will prevail. 

Local planning authorities will have only limited flexibility under the new regime. They will be able to decide how they should reach agreement about decisions, and whether specific types of application should always be delegated to officers. But there is no room to adopt an approach that allows applications to be determined by committee in circumstances other than those set out in the Regulations. 

Will your scheme still go to committee?

Under the new regime, all planning decisions will be delegated to planning officers unless they relate to a specific type of permission set out in Schedule 2 of the Regulations (Schedule 2 approvals).

The categories of Schedule 2 approvals are:

• Reserved matters approvals for a "large outline permission" – defined as an outline planning permission which permits 500 or more dwellings and/or 50,000 square metres of new floorspace. 
• Listed building consents.
• Tree preservation orders. 
• Advertising consents. 
• Section 73 applications and section 106A applications where the original consent would have been a Schedule 2 approval. 

How the referral decision works

Even where an application is a Schedule 2 approval, there is a presumption that it will be delegated to officers and only referred to committee if the application raises either: (i) one or more issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area; or (ii) one or more significant planning matters having regard to the development plan or other material considerations. 

Whether or not such an application should be referred is to be decided by the "nominated officer" (usually the Chief Planning Officer) and the "nominated member" (usually the Chair of the Planning Committee). If they cannot agree, the decision will made by  a planning officer under delegated powers. The process by which the nominated officer and nominated member should reach agreement will be set out in each local planning authority's constitution. 

It is also worth noting that a local planning authority may pre-determine which types of Schedule 2 approvals should always be delegated to officers by setting this out in its constitution – so there may be continued variation between authorities.

When will the new regime apply?

The Regulations come into force on 31 October 2026. By this time, local planning authorities are expected to have amended their constitutions to reflect the new requirements. 

Two points on timing deserve particular attention:

• No transitional provisions. There are no transitional provisions in the Regulations relating to planning applications that have already been validated or will be before 31 October 2026 – all applications will be subject to the new rules once the National Scheme comes into effect. 
• Early adoption is likely. The Regulations do not come into force until 31 October 2026, but local planning authorities are expected to have updated their constitutions before that date. Therefore, for many local authorities the new rules will start to apply before 31 October 2026. 

What does this mean for live applications?

Whilst many schemes are likely to benefit from the decision being taken by officers under delegated powers, there may be an advantage for some schemes to be considered by committee, particularly where local politics operate in favour of the grant of permission despite inconsistencies with local planning policies. 

Depending on the circumstances, developers may therefore be keen either to press for a decision under an existing local authority scheme of delegation or wait until the new rules are in force. It is therefore worth applicants taking a close interest in the steps that local authorities are taking to implement the National Scheme in their area, and the potential timing of when it is likely to come into effect. 

Developers should also pay close attention to the terms of each local planning authority's scheme, to ensure that the decision-making process followed is compliant with it. The guidance states that, once the national scheme is in force, decisions on delegation that are not in accordance with the Regulations could be at risk of judicial review. 

Why we welcome the reforms

We have long argued for a shift in this direction. Ten years ago, Matthew White wrote in Estates Gazette that "Local government planning decisions should be taken away from elected committees and determined by planning officers" ("Planning: a modest proposal", 4 June 2016), arguing that "Decisions would become more predictable. More attention would be paid to the contents of local plans – by landowners, local communities and by local councillors – because there would be a strong incentive to get them right. Planning officers would finally be empowered to do the jobs they were trained for. Many members might even prefer not to have the responsibility of determining applications themselves."

A decade on, those arguments have only been reinforced by our experience of how planning applications are determined. Developers continue to encounter schemes where committee politics introduce uncertainty and delay that bears little relationship to the planning merits – and the appeal overturn rate speaks for itself. This uncertainty is a major disincentive to real estate investment and development, and a hindrance on UK growth.

It seems that the Government finally agrees. From 31 October 2026 – or sooner for local planning authorities who update their constitutions ahead of time – we could see more decisions on major schemes being taken by experienced planning officers, which should make decision–making more predictable, place greater weight on professional planning judgment and reduce the scope for avoidable delay. For developers and investors, that is a meaningful step in the right direction. 

Nevertheless, the criteria for referring applications to committee are very broad indeed. This is disappointing because, in practice, authorities will have almost complete freedom to decide whether or not an application for major commercial development should be determined at committee.

The role of the nominated officer in this process will be fundamental, as they can overrule the nominated member in cases where there is disagreement about referring an application to committee. It remains to be seen, however, how many Chief Planning Officers will be brave enough to insist on determining an application under delegated powers where the Chair of the Planning Committee wants it to go to committee.  

Smaller planning committees: a further step towards better decisions

The Regulations also regulate the size of planning committees, limiting all planning committees in England to a maximum of 13 committee members. 

Why does this matter? Smaller committees are generally regarded as producing more focused, higher quality debate. A tighter committee is less susceptible to bloc voting or grandstanding and can be more efficiently managed by the chair – all of which should contribute to quicker, more predictable outcomes for developers.

What further reforms are expected?

The December 2024 Planning Reform Working Paper on planning committees and subsequent May 2025 technical consultation proposed mandating training for planning committees, which would further raise the quality of decision–making and help to speed up the planning system. 

In its March 2026 consultation response, the Government noted that its priority was to implement the National Scheme and reform the size of planning committees first, and that it would undertake further stakeholder engagement before implementing mandatory training. The timing of this is not yet clear, nor whether the training will be provided at a national or local level. However, the Government's commitment towards ensuring that planning committees operate as effectively as possible is welcome. 

What should developers do now?

• Monitor local authority constitutions. Monitor when relevant local planning authorities update their constitutions. In practice, this means checking the governance pages of relevant council websites or asking your planning consultant to track updates as they are published.
• Review live applications. Track live applications to understand who will determine them. Given the absence of transitional provisions, this is particularly important for applications currently in the system.
• Consider your strategic position. Consider whether officer delegation or committee determination is strategically preferable. In some cases, an early committee hearing under the existing regime may be advantageous; in others, waiting for officer delegation under the new rules will be the better course.
• Analyse the criteria for Schedule 2 approvals. Review applications against the criteria that determine whether or not they can be referred to the planning committee for approval. In appropriate cases, consider whether strategic advocacy on the application of the criteria would be advantageous.
• Check compliance. Check that any delegation decision complies with the Regulations and guidance – non-compliant decisions could be vulnerable to judicial review.