Merton Council's Development and Planning Applications Committee has approved new rules governing how planning applications are delegated, aligning with national changes to the planning system.
The committee, meeting on Thursday, 22 October 2026, was informed of upcoming changes to the national scheme of delegation for planning applications, which are set to come into effect on 31 October 2026. These changes aim to streamline the planning process by classifying applications into two schedules.
Schedule 1 applications will be determined by officers, while Schedule 2 applications will be eligible for committee consideration only if they pass specific gateway tests
. These tests determine if an application has one or more issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area; or one or more significant planning matters having regard to the development plan and any other material considerations.
The decision on whether an application passes these tests is made by the Committee Chairman and the Head of Development Management/Chief Planner.
Householder applications will no longer be eligible for committee consideration under the new regulations. This is because, by law, they will not be able to come to committee. The government's aim is to ensure greater clarity and consistency in decision-making, allowing committees to focus on key proposals that matter to an area, while officers handle more minor and technical decisions. The potential consequences for residents with minor extensions or alterations are not detailed.
Penelope Tollitt, Interim Head of Development Management and Building Control, explained that Merton's existing practices already align closely with many of the new national standards, meaning the impact on the council's operations will be minimal. She noted that the council's committee already focuses on strategic applications and that householder applications are rarely called in.
However, the new regulations introduce a mandatory gateway test for Schedule 2 applications, which must be agreed upon by the committee chair and the Head of Development Management. If they cannot agree, the decision will default to the officer. The committee discussed the potential for challenging these gateway decisions, with Councillor Daniel Shearer suggesting a mechanism for the committee to request the chair to reconsider their judgment.
Councillor Matthew Willis raised concerns about the interim process for councillors calling in applications, noting that the current system relies on personal cloud storage. It was agreed that an email to both the chair and the Head of Development Management would suffice in the interim.
The committee also noted that the new rules will affect the administration of the council's back-office system, Idox, requiring applications to be categorised as Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 for reporting purposes.
Councillor Billy Hayes sought clarification on the implications for ward councillors when a development in their area is decided by officers rather than the committee. Ms Tollitt assured members that ward councillors would still have access to case officers to discuss concerns, but that the final decision would be based on planning regulations.
The changes are being implemented to make planning more technical and less politicised, aiming to ensure that valid applications are not unduly refused. The government's aim in introducing the new national scheme of delegation is to ensure greater clarity and consistency about the role of planning committees in planning decision-making: committees should focus on the key proposals that matter to an area, enabling other, often more minor and technical decisions, to be made by planning officers.
This is deliberately making planning technical, although the specific implications for community engagement and local democratic oversight are not detailed.
The committee will receive mandatory training on the new procedures. The full details of the report considered by the committee can be found in the Public reports pack.