Are planning decisions moving further from local communities?

This article was co-written by Lucy Carrington, Trainee Solicitor in HCR Law’s Real Estate team.

A series of reforms to local government and the planning system could shift how and where planning decisions are made, raising questions about the role of local councils and communities.

Reorganisation, delegation and section 106 reform

The government describes its local government reforms as devolution. New strategic authorities and mayors will take on more responsibility for things like housing, transport and strategic planning. At the same time as councils are being reorganised, more strategic, combined and mayoral authorities are being created, and the government is consulting on how to implement the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026.

For planning in particular, though, the reforms may not be as straightforward as they first seem. Alongside reorganisation, the government is also consulting on standard section 106 templates and introducing a new national scheme of delegation, both of which could change how planning applications are dealt with.

What is changing?

In areas that currently have both a county council and district councils, the two tiers are being merged into single unitary authorities. Surrey is one of the first examples: its county and district councils are being replaced by two new councils, East Surrey and West Surrey, which go live in April 2027.

Closer to home, on 16 July 2026, the government decided to replace Gloucestershire’s county, city, district and borough councils with a single unitary council from 1 April 2028 and to create two unitary councils in Worcestershire. The councils involved and their local voters cannot stop reorganisation going ahead.

However, on 7 September 2026, the government launched a review of the programme. The Gloucestershire and Worcestershire decisions are among 14 that have been paused while the review takes place, and local elections in May 2027 will go ahead on existing council boundaries.

Herefordshire could also be affected through devolution. One option discussed for a new mayoral strategic authority would group Gloucestershire with Herefordshire and Worcestershire. However, Gloucestershire’s single unitary proposal noted that the combined population of these three areas is slightly below the government’s threshold, which the English Devolution White Paper sets by default at 1.5m or more.

Why does this matter for planning?

At the moment, district councils deal with most day-to-day planning applications. A unitary authority is a single council that provides all local services in its area, rather than these being split between a county council and a district council.

If district councils are absorbed into much larger unitary authorities, decisions about local development could be made by bodies that cover a far wider area and know less about individual communities.

National policy seems to be heading the same way. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is the government’s document setting out planning policies for England, which councils must take into account when preparing local plans and deciding planning applications. Under the new NPPF, local plan policies that clash significantly with national policies on deciding applications carry very little weight.

So, while some powers are being passed to regional bodies, local councils risk having less say over what gets built in their areas.

Standard section 106 templates

Alongside reorganisation, but as part of its separate reforms to the planning system, the government is also changing how section 106 agreements work.

A section 106 agreement is a legally binding agreement between a developer and the council, made when planning permission is granted. It requires the developer to take steps that make the development acceptable, such as providing affordable homes or contributing towards local roads, schools or other infrastructure. One is needed where a development would otherwise have an unacceptable impact on the local area that cannot be addressed by planning conditions alone. Many smaller schemes, such as most householder extensions, do not need one.

The government is consulting on standard section 106 templates for medium-sized sites. There are four draft documents: a bilateral agreement, a unilateral undertaking and two affordable housing schedules, one for full planning permission and one for outline permission.

The Housing and Planning Minister has said section 106 agreements remain “an essential mechanism” for delivering affordable housing but accepted that negotiating them can be inefficient and cause delays. Standard templates could help councils, which often have fewer legal resources than larger developers.

However, apart from the affordable housing schedules, the drafts cover little beyond financial contributions. How well they work will probably depend on whether they are flexible enough for local circumstances. The templates are currently at consultation stage and are not mandatory, so they should not, for now, affect agreements that are already being negotiated.

The national scheme of delegation

The new national scheme of delegation comes into force on 31 October 2026. Currently, each council decides which applications go to its planning committee (a group of councillors) and which are decided by planning officers. This will now be set nationally.

Smaller or routine applications must always be decided by officers. These include householder applications (such as extensions), minor residential schemes (generally under 10 homes), minor commercial development and technical applications such as discharging planning conditions.

All other applications are treated as larger or more sensitive, including major schemes, housing schemes of around 10 to 49 homes, applications by the council or its councillors and listed building and protected tree consents.

Even these are decided by officers unless the nominated planning officer and nominated planning member (usually the chair) agree that the application raises a significant planning issue, or a significant economic, social or environmental issue locally, such as the loss of a rural community shop.

A high number of objections will no longer be enough on its own to send an application to committee, and committees will be limited to 13 members. The government says officers already make 96% of planning decisions in England. Even so, the changes are likely to reduce councillors’ role in planning, moving decisions further from local communities.

What should applicants be aware of?

Applicants may face some uncertainty during the changeover. Planning teams and local plans could be merged, and the council deciding their application could change. In Gloucestershire, for example, the six district councils and the county council were due to be replaced by one council from April 2028, although that decision is now under review.

From 31 October 2026, most applications are likely to be decided by planning officers rather than by committee. Applicants should therefore focus on engaging with officers early, as asking councillors to take an application to committee, or relying on the number of objections or letters of support, will carry less weight than before.

Anyone wishing to comment on the section 106 templates should note that the consultation closes at 11.59pm on 20 October 2026.