Newham Council to streamline planning with single Strategic Development Committee
Newham Council is set to consolidate its planning committee structure into a single body, the Strategic Development Committee (SDC), in response to new national legislation. The changes, driven by the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, which came into effect on 31 October 2026, introduce a national scheme of delegation for planning decisions. The council aims to ensure these constitutional amendments are implemented by 31 October 2026, with approval sought at Full Council on 2 November 2026.
The primary recommendation is to decommission the Local Development Committee (LDC) and retain the SDC as the council's sole planning committee. This move is expected to result in a more streamlined and efficient governance model, delivering the best value for the council in terms of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Analysis of past LDC cases indicated that a significant reduction in the number of applications would require officer determination under the new regulations, making the retention of a separate committee inefficient and contrary to value for money principles.
Under the new regulations, a 'Gateway process' will be introduced to determine whether planning applications meet statutory significance tests that would warrant referral to the SDC. The presumption will be that applications are determined by officers unless they raise significant economic, social, environmental, or planning issues. These statutory significance tests consider whether an application raises one or more issues of economic, social, or environmental significance to the local area, or significant planning matters in relation to the development plan and other material considerations. Applications more likely to be referred include major residential, commercial, and mixed-use schemes, significant regeneration proposals, strategic infrastructure, those with substantial impacts, and those generating significant public interest or raising strategic planning considerations.
Applications anticipated to be determined by officers under the new 'Gateway process' include householder developments, minor extensions and alterations, small commercial developments, non-material amendments, discharge of condition applications, certificates of lawfulness, biodiversity gain plan approvals, and permission in principle applications. Routine applications that do not satisfy the statutory significance tests will also be determined by officers. Specifically, applications falling within Schedule 1 of the Regulations must be determined by officers. Applications for works to protected trees, telecommunications, and advertisement consent will ordinarily be determined by officers, unless they raise significant borough-wide issues.
The 'Gateway process' will ensure that applications with significant issues are still adequately reviewed by the SDC through a formal assessment against the statutory significance tests. If both the Nominated Officer and Nominated Member agree that the Gateway Test is satisfied, the application may be referred to the SDC. The Gateway Monitoring Schedule will record these decisions to ensure transparency and consistency.
Officers explained that retaining the SDC and increasing its membership from nine to up to 13 members is the most efficient and cost-effective approach. This increase is permitted by the new regulations and could provide greater capacity and broader member representation, subject to political proportionality calculations for seat allocation. This option was favoured over creating a new single planning committee due to the extensive constitutional and governance changes required for the latter, which could delay the council's ability to operate a lawful planning function.
The council aims to ensure continued public engagement and transparency through several measures. The planning process will remain open, with a 28-day period for representations on planning applications. Residents will continue to be able to make representations and speak at committee meetings for applications that are referred. The Gateway process itself will be transparent and auditable, with decisions recorded and maintained as part of the planning decision-making record. A Gateway Monitoring Schedule will be maintained and reported periodically to the SDC. Officers also plan to improve online accessibility of planning information and explore better ways to notify residents and ward councillors of applications. The operation of the revised arrangements is proposed to be reviewed after twelve months.
The committee indicated a preference for officers to develop a proposal based on this approach for consideration at the next meeting. The implications of committee size, specifically whether it should be nine or 13 members, will also be explored further.