Government confirms national scheme of delegation, cap on planning committees at 13 members

Writing in the response published on Thursday (26 March), the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), also committed to limiting the size of planning committees to 13 members.  

Alongside a national delegation scheme, the consultation also proposed requiring separate, smaller planning committees for strategic development and mandatory training for planning committee members.

In its response, the Government said the national scheme of delegation would ensure planning committees work as "effectively as possible and focus on those applications for complex or contentious development where local democratic oversight is required".

It added that the two-tier structure is intended to give "greater clarity and consistency" about who in a local planning authority will make planning decisions.

In its consultation, the Government proposed a delegation scheme made up of two tiers, Tier A and Tier B.

The consultation said that Tier A applications should "generally be technical in matter, or about minor developments" and would include the following types of applications:

• applications for planning permission for:
  • Householder development
  • Minor commercial development
  • Minor residential development
• applications for reserved matter approvals
• applications for s96A non-material amendments to planning permissions
• applications for the approval of conditions
• applications for approval of the BNG Plan
• applications for approval of prior approval (for permitted development rights)
• applications for Lawful Development Certificates
• applications for a Certificate of Appropriate Alternative Development

Tier B applications should meanwhile involve:

• Applications for planning permission not in Tier A
• Notwithstanding Tier A, any application for planning permission where the applicant is the local authority, a councillor or officer
• Section 73 applications to vary conditions
• Review of mineral planning conditions

In its response, the Government reiterated its support for the list of applications included under Type A, but introduced a small change in approach to reserved matters applications and said it would move applications for medium residential development to Tier B.

It said: "We recognise that in some cases these applications may relate to large scale phased development taking place over many years.

“As such each reserved matters application can represent substantial major development in its own right and may, in some cases, merit committee scrutiny. For this reason, only reserved matter applications relating to non-phased outline planning permissions are included in Tier A in the draft regulations."

On medium residential development, the response added: "Having considered all the points raised by respondents, on balance, we do not think it would be appropriate to include any applications for medium residential development in Tier A. We recognise that, in any particular circumstances, this type of application might raise issues which would merit scrutiny by a committee. We will therefore, put these types of application in Tier B."

Turning to planning committee sizes, the Government committed to a maximum cap of 13 members. It said this would strike the right balance between fair political representation and ensuring resilience in the decision making function "whilst achieving the policy aims of creating smaller more professional committees".

The Government said it has now prepared draft regulations setting out the detailed arrangements for the national scheme of delegation. It has also published draft statutory guidance to support local authorities in implementing the regulations.

The Government meanwhile held back on making a final decision on whether mandatory training for planning committee members should be administered on a national level, stating that it would embark on further stakeholder engagement.

Commenting on its overall plans, the Ministry said: “Planning is principally a local activity because decisions about what to build and where should be shaped by local communities and reflect the views of local residents.

“That is why the government is determined to ensure every area has an up-to-date local plan developed through significant resident engagement, and it is why the government believes that planning committees have an integral role in providing local democratic oversight of planning decisions.

“It is, however, vital that in exercising that democratic oversight, planning committees operate as effectively as possible, focusing on those applications which require member input and not revisiting the same decisions.”

Adam Carey