Smaller Bexley planning applications to be decided by officers

Bexley Council has adopted new planning procedures that will see officers determine smaller applications, a move one councillor described as “entirely undemocratic and entirely unnecessary”, while another called the changes “anti-democratic”.

The changes, mandated by a new national scheme of delegations that came into force on 31 October 2026, were approved at a full Council meeting on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. Under the new rules, householder extensions and developments of up to nine homes will be determined by officers. This legislation strips elected councillors of planning powers and is happening across all of England.

Councillor Cameron Smith, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Infrastructure, stated that the legislation, imposed by the Labour government, is significantly curtailing the democratic oversight of planning decisions. He added that the previous system, where three or more objections could trigger a planning committee discussion, was no longer legally possible. Residents' objections to smaller planning applications will no longer be able to push these applications to the Planning Committee for a decision. While officers will continue to consider residents' comments as part of the planning process, and will go to great lengths to make sure that residents' views, and councillors, when they submit those views, if they're not on the committee, that they're properly investigated and properly considered as part of the process, the ability for residents to have their objections debated and decided by councillors in an open forum is no longer possible for these smaller applications.

Councillor Mrs June Slaughter MBE, a long-serving member of the council, echoed these concerns, lamenting the loss of local democratic oversight. She noted that residents would find it difficult to understand and would not forgive the changes, which she believes will diminish their ability to have their say on planning matters.

Councillor David Leaf, Leader of the Council, also voiced his opposition to the changes, calling them “thoroughly wrong” and highlighting the irony of the Prime Minister's stated commitment to devolving power to local areas while simultaneously stripping councils of planning powers.

The Council was compelled to make the constitutional changes to comply with the new legislation. Councillor Christopher Rydes, speaking on the technicalities of the new system, explained that applications would be divided into Schedule 1 and Schedule 2. Schedule 1 applications will no longer be able to come before the planning committee. Schedule 2 applications may be considered by the committee, but only after an officer triage test to determine if they realistically have a chance of passing the statutory test. This statutory test is focused on whether the application has a significant impact on the economic or social fabric of the borough.

He also mentioned that smaller applications... can no longer be decided by planning committees... That is no longer possible under these rules, in an enormous change, changing decades of how planning committees and how people understand how councils and the process works.