Homeowners looking to extend or convert their loft, and small businesses improving their premises, could get faster planning decisions under new rules to cut unnecessary delays.
Straightforward applications will now be decided by expert planning officers rather than waiting for a planning committee slot, helping families, shopkeepers and pub landlords get decisions sooner.
The new National Scheme of Delegation will give greater certainty for applicants, while freeing up councillors to focus on the most significant developments.
Families and businesses could also get quicker decisions thanks to 420 newly recruited planners through government-backed programmes, surpassing the government’s 2024 manifesto commitment to recruit 300 additional planners more than two years before the end of this Parliament.
New AI technology designed to take time-consuming admin off planners’ desks will also help homeowners get quicker decisions on their applications, like getting permission for a house extension or a conservatory. Developed with Google DeepMind, Google Cloud, Faculty and local authorities, PlanAssist brings together applications, policies and site constraints into one place for trained officers to review. Early testing cut time spent on key planning tasks by 58% - helping us halve processing times for routine householder applications from eight weeks to four.
Following a successful trial in Camden, Barnet and Dorset Councils, the tool will now expand to 15 councils for 12 months, with the government intending to make it available to every council in England by the end of 2027.
With householder applications accounting for nearly 70% of applications each year, the changes will get more everyday applications moving, delivering a faster, more efficient planning service for residents and businesses and giving planners more time to tackle complex cases.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “Families wanting more space and businesses looking to grow shouldn’t be left waiting unnecessarily for straightforward planning decisions.
“We’re giving councils the people, tools and reforms they need to get applications moving faster, while freeing up planners and councillors to focus on the developments that will deliver the homes and infrastructure communities need.
“We’ve already beaten our manifesto commitment to recruit 300 planners, and we’re going further with 1,400 new recruits across the planning system by the end of this Parliament.”
AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said: “Whether it’s building an extension or converting a loft, families shouldn’t face unnecessary delays getting the go-ahead to improve their homes.
“This is what putting AI to work for the public looks like in practice. By slashing the time spent on routine planning tasks by more than half, we’re helping families get quicker answers while freeing up skilled planners to focus on the major developments that will get Britain building.”
However, the Government should commit to an earlier review of the rule changes into how planning decisions are split between council officers and planning committees of elected councillors, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
The LGA said the new National Scheme of Delegation (NSD) rules, risks eroding the democratic role of planning committees. It will limit the ability of local councillors to ‘call-in’ planning decisions for committee scrutiny.
A one-size-fits-all approach is also unlikely to adequately reflect the diversity of local planning authorities, particularly in large geographic areas, or in communities where developments can have significant local impacts.
Instead, councils should be able to determine the planning governance arrangements that work for their unique local areas.
While the Government has pledged to review the rule-change in 2028, the LGA is also calling for this to be brought forward to 2027 to more quickly assess any impact on local democracy.
Cllr Carl Cashman, Chair of the LGA’s Inclusive Growth Committee, said: “Councillors are concerned this could negatively impact their democratic mandate and ensure their views about how their area is developed are taken into account. We support creating a more efficient and effective planning system, but we do not believe the government’s plans address this”.
“Elected councillors are the backbone of the English planning system.
“Government needs to review the impact of this change earlier to ensure it does not come at the expense of local democratic accountability.”
