Bromley Council has formally condemned upcoming government reforms to the planning system, labelling them anti-democratic changes
that could undermine local democracy and community involvement.
The Development Control Committee passed a motion stating: This Committee condemns in the strongest possible terms the Labour Government for introducing these anti-democratic changes to the planning system.
The reforms, which are set to take effect from October 31, 2026, will introduce restrictions on the types of planning applications that can be determined by a committee and will limit committee sizes to a maximum of thirteen councillors.
Under the new reforms, Schedule 1 applications
will be restricted from committee determination and must be delegated to officers. These include, but are not limited to, householder applications, minor commercial applications, minor residential applications, and applications for permission in principle.
The government's aim behind the national scheme of delegation, including limiting committee sizes, 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.
The reforms are intended to speed up decision making and if this is the case, these changes could result in faster decisions on planning applications for local residents and businesses.
However, critics fear a reduction in the number of planning applications considered at committee and a likely reduction in the number of planning committees held, which could impact community involvement.
The legislation also categorizes applications into Schedule 1 (must be delegated to officers) and Schedule 2 (presumption for delegation unless specific criteria are met for committee referral). New call in
powers for planning applications will be introduced, where members can request a call-in for Schedule 2 applications only, requiring justification and consideration by a nominated officer and member.
To ensure transparency and accountability in the determination of planning applications no longer handled by committees, the planning application panel
will be required to record cases considered for referral to committee, the outcome of their consideration, and the reasons for their decision. This record must be reported to the planning committee regularly and made available on the Council's website.
Further details on the reforms can be found in the Public reports pack for the Development Control Committee meeting on Thursday, 17 September 2026. Public reports pack Thursday 17-Sep-2026 19.30 Development Control Committee
