Newham Council's planning reforms raise transparency concerns among councillors

Newham Council's planning reforms, set to take effect on 31 October 2026, have raised significant concerns among councillors regarding transparency and public scrutiny. The changes introduce a national scheme of delegation, shifting the majority of planning decisions from elected members to council officers.

The reforms are driven by the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, which mandate a new approach to how planning applications are determined. This national legislation introduces a presumption in favour of officer determination, with committee consideration becoming an exception for less significant applications.

Shift to Officer-Led Decisions

The core of the reforms involves a national scheme of delegation, meaning fewer planning applications will be decided by councillors. Instead, officers will determine most applications unless a statutory Gateway process is triggered. This shift aims to streamline the planning process and accelerate housing delivery, a key objective of the new regulations.

Under the new regulations, applications falling within Schedule 1 must be determined by officers and cannot be referred to committee. Applications within Schedule 2 may only be referred to committee if a statutory Gateway test is satisfied. Routine and technical applications, such as householder developments, minor extensions, and small commercial proposals, will generally be determined by officers. These typically include householder applications, minor extensions, small commercial developments, non-material amendments, discharge of condition applications, and certificates of lawfulness. Applications for works to protected trees, telecommunications applications, and advertisement consent applications are also ordinarily determined by officers, though exceptional circumstances could lead to Gateway referral.

The Gateway Process and Public Scrutiny

The 'Gateway process' is a statutory decision point designed to identify applications that raise significant economic, social, environmental, or planning issues, warranting referral to the Strategic Development Committee. It is not intended to determine the planning merits of an application but to establish whether it meets the statutory significance tests requiring member determination.

Applications more likely to be determined by committee include major residential, mixed-use, regeneration, commercial, and infrastructure schemes, as well as those with substantial borough-wide impacts, significant public interest, or important strategic planning issues. The criteria for referral include:

• Scale and Strategic Importance: Substantial or strategic developments like major residential, commercial, employment, or mixed-use schemes, and those with implications beyond the immediate locality.
• Significant Public Interest: Applications attracting unusually high public interest relative to their nature and location, considering the number of objections, supporting representations, material planning considerations, and impact on the wider community.
• Significant Planning Issues: Complex, novel, or significant planning considerations, such as major departures from the Development Plan, significant heritage impacts, strategic transport issues, or new policy considerations.
• Other Economic, Social or Environmental Significance: Applications likely to have a significant impact on the economic, social, or environmental wellbeing of the Borough.
• Statutory or Exceptional Circumstances: Applications that officers consider warrant committee consideration due to legislative requirements or other exceptional circumstances.

When the Gateway process is triggered, public and ward councillor involvement continues through the standard planning application process, including a 28-day consultation period. Residents can still make representations, and ward councillors can submit Gateway Requests for applications to be considered for committee referral. However, the ultimate decision on whether an application proceeds to committee rests on the Gateway assessment. The Gateway Monitoring Schedule will record decisions and reasons, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Concerns Over Clarity and Process

Councillors have voiced unease about the implications of these changes. Councillor Nate Higgins highlighted discomfort with approving the reforms without clearer information on which decisions are locally determined versus those mandated by national legislation. Councillor Rachel Tripp echoed concerns about transparency, particularly regarding the Gateway process, and called for better online accessibility of planning information.

Several councillors raised issues regarding the clarity of the documents presented, with concerns about track changes and the absence of full commentary on proposed amendments. The meeting acknowledged that documents, specifically Appendices 1 and 2, were in a tracked-changes format with comments removed, hindering scrutiny. The Chair suggested the committee might not be in a position to vote on recommendations that evening due to this lack of transparency.

Councillor Obaid Khan questioned the involvement of ward councillors in decisions made through the Gateway process, while Councillor Kelly Drake expressed concerns about the compressed timeline for making such significant decisions.

Addressing Concerns and Timeline Management

In response to the concerns about document clarity, officers proposed continuing with questions to gain a clearer direction and potentially reconvening for an adjourned meeting once the documents were clearer. The committee ultimately decided to ask officers to work up a proposal based on Option A for consideration at the next meeting, implying clearer documentation would be provided.

The urgency surrounding the timeline stems from the statutory deadline of 31 October 2026 for implementing the new legislation. Officers explained that most councils were in a similar position in October 2026, working to comply with the new regulations. The urgency is driven by the legal requirement to have a lawful planning function in place immediately after the Full Council meeting on 2 November 2026, to avoid unlawful decision-making. To manage this, officers proposed a phased approach, with the committee voting to ask officers to work up a proposal based on Option A (dissolving the Local Development Committee and retaining the Strategic Development Committee) for consideration at the next meeting.

The rationale behind Newham Council's decision to implement these reforms is driven by the new national legislation, aiming to streamline the planning process and speed up housing delivery. Expected benefits include increased efficiency and cost-effectiveness, a focus on strategically significant applications for committee determination, and a more streamlined governance model. A potential drawback, as raised by councillors, is the concern about transparency and reduced public scrutiny of planning decisions.