BCP councillors have warned national planning reforms could reduce local oversight of development decisions.
The National Scheme of Delegation will standardise how applications are decided across England when it takes effect on October 31 under reforms introduced by the Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025.
Planning officers will determine home extensions, small commercial schemes and developments of up to 9 homes, alongside permitted development, prior approvals, the discharge of conditions and most minor technical applications.
Larger proposals, listed-building consent, advertisements, tree preservation orders and retrospective applications will also normally be delegated, with planning committees becoming involved only in exceptional circumstances.
Councillors will lose the ability to call applications in for public discussion, while existing rules referring proposals to committee after receiving a set number of objections will be removed.
Councillor Millie Earl said the Government was “stripping out local democracy” and warned that 2 proposed houses in multiple occupation on Shillito Road could not have been called in under the new arrangements.
Both were refused by the planning committee, and Councillor Earl believes residents would otherwise have been denied the opportunity to raise their concerns publicly.
She estimates around half the applications considered by BCP Council’s planning committee during the past year would no longer qualify for committee discussion.
Councillor John Challinor acknowledged the Government believes its approach will make decisions quicker and more consistent, allowing committees to concentrate on major developments.
However, he said smaller schemes could still have a significant effect on neighbours and warned officers would face additional pressure because committees would no longer provide a “safety net”.
The national arrangements and October 31 implementation date are confirmed in the Government’s published guidance.
