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Planning System Reforms

The UK government is undertaking comprehensive planning system reforms through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with multiple bills including the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and Planning Application Fees Bill currently progressing. The reforms aim to streamline the planning process to accelerate housebuilding, particularly in London and other growth areas, but are raising concerns about the removal of statutory planning consultees (including Sport England) and protection of community assets like playing fields and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The reforms are in active implementation with ongoing consultations on new towns and assessments of impacts on protected designations.

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2026

4 events
29 Apr 2026 | Written question Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government linked

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent planning reforms on the protection of Sites of Special Scient

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent planning reforms on the protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

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27 Apr 2026 | Written question Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government linked

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the planning system provides adequate protection for sites of ecological

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the planning system provides adequate protection for sites of ecological value prior to designation as Sites of Special Scienti

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20 Apr 2026 | Committee report linked

We recommend that any future planning reforms include a robust and enforceable mechanism to protect playing fields and sports facilities, safeguarding these vital community assets for future generations. (Recommendation, Paragraph 53)

We recommend that any future planning reforms include a robust and enforceable mechanism to protect playing fields and sports facilities, safeguarding these vital community assets for future generations. (Recommendation, Paragraph 53) Type: recommendation | Number: 18 | Response status: response_pe

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23 Mar 2026 | Committee report linked

We have received no evidence to date that the Executive has a thought through or deliverable plan to address and reform the deficits in planning policy and processes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 55)

We have received no evidence to date that the Executive has a thought through or deliverable plan to address and reform the deficits in planning policy and processes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 55) Type: conclusion | Number: 8 | Response status: response_pending

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2025

8 events
28 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

Any reforms to land value capture should also be considerate of the wider tax system, to balance public needs and equitable charges on development. To support this work, the Government should publish updated land value estimates, which were last published in August 2020. If the Government does not intend to do so, it must explain why it no longer publishes this data. (Recommendation, Paragraph 28) 61 Reforms to Section 106 agreements

Any reforms to land value capture should also be considerate of the wider tax system, to balance public needs and equitable charges on development. To support this work, the Government should publish updated land value estimates, which were last published …

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28 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

There is a strong case for the introduction of template clauses for aspects of Section 106 agreements across England, as was recommended by the National Audit Office and others. Templates would allow local authorities to focus negotiations on site-specific factors rather than legal wordings. Template clauses would also allow for greater standardisation and clarity of requirements across all local authorities, and in turn reduce the workload of local authorities and Small and Medium-sized Ente...

There is a strong case for the introduction of template clauses for aspects of Section 106 agreements across England, as was recommended by the National Audit Office and others. Templates would allow local authorities to focus negotiations on site-specific factors …

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28 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

Local planning authorities across England are frequently under-resourced and stretched to deliver on local priorities. The Government’s funding for 300 new planning officers demonstrates that it recognises this problem, but this announcement equates to less than one planning officer on average for each local authority in England. At the same time, the Government is restricting access to apprenticeships to train the next generation of public sector planners, despite the Government’s ambition f...

Local planning authorities across England are frequently under-resourced and stretched to deliver on local priorities. The Government’s funding for 300 new planning officers demonstrates that it recognises this problem, but this announcement equates to less than one planning officer on …

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28 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

Once the Planning and Infrastructure Bill receives Royal Assent, the Secretary of State must make regulations to allow local planning authorities to take into account the cost of local and regional plan-making when calculating local planning fees. Local planning authorities and Strategic Authorities should be allowed to spend these contributions from planning fees on staffing and resources to deliver their core functions and improve local plan coverage. (Recommendation, Paragraph 49)

Once the Planning and Infrastructure Bill receives Royal Assent, the Secretary of State must make regulations to allow local planning authorities to take into account the cost of local and regional plan-making when calculating local planning fees. Local planning authorities …

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17 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

The number of local planning authorities with an up-to-date local plan has fallen significantly since 2019. As at February 2025, only 86 LPAs–29% of all the LPAs in England–had adopted a local plan in the past five years. By contrast, in February 2019, 149 LPAs had an up-to-date local plan. This Committee has previously reported on the number of local authorities without an up-to-date local plan, which takes on average seven years to produce. Without an up-to-date local plan, LPAs risk not be...

The number of local planning authorities with an up-to-date local plan has fallen significantly since 2019. As at February 2025, only 86 LPAs–29% of all the LPAs in England–had adopted a local plan in the past five years. By contrast, …

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17 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

The Department told us it was introducing a new system for plan-making that should be more streamlined, and would involve statutory timelines. Its aim would be for local authorities to be able to complete a plan in 30 months. The Department also told us it was giving additional support to those local authorities who had not started a plan, and in the future it would expect local authorities to feel under departmental pressure to produce a plan. It expressed a hope that a much higher number of...

The Department told us it was introducing a new system for plan-making that should be more streamlined, and would involve statutory timelines. Its aim would be for local authorities to be able to complete a plan in 30 months. The …

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17 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

Research from the sector suggests that staffing in local planning authorities (LPAs) is a serious problem. The Royal Town Planning Institute’s 2023 State of the Profession report found that, in the period 2013–2020, around a quarter of planners left the public sector, while the private sector grew by two-thirds. A 2022 survey by the Local Government Association found that 58% of local authorities in England experienced difficulties in recruiting planning officers. Staffing issues within LPA p...

Research from the sector suggests that staffing in local planning authorities (LPAs) is a serious problem. The Royal Town Planning Institute’s 2023 State of the Profession report found that, in the period 2013–2020, around a quarter of planners left the …

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17 Oct 2025 | Committee report linked

Some LPAs would also like more direct engagement with the Department on developer contributions, housing targets and the planning system more widely.43 We suggested to the Department that one of the problems is the difference in performance between the best and worst authorities. It explained that a core aim of its Planning Capacity and Capability programme is to bring areas up to the standards of the best by making sure they have the professional expertise and experience to properly understa...

Some LPAs would also like more direct engagement with the Department on developer contributions, housing targets and the planning system more widely.43 We suggested to the Department that one of the problems is the difference in performance between the best …

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2024

2 events
24 May 2024 | Committee report linked

Delivery of renewable energy projects at pace, and securing their connection to the transmission network, is essential to achieving the generation capacity required under the Government’s strategy for energy security. The connection of generation capacity to the grid is being held up by delays to the ‘critical path’ of grid readiness. Delays in project connections are unlikely to improve the confidence of investors in electrification projects. While the connection reforms brought in by Ofgem ...

Delivery of renewable energy projects at pace, and securing their connection to the transmission network, is essential to achieving the generation capacity required under the Government’s strategy for energy security. The connection of generation capacity to the grid is being …

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24 May 2024 | Committee report linked

We urge the Government to ensure that the planning authorities have adequate resources to obtain and develop the skills and capacity necessary to prevent the planning system being a bottleneck to the rollout of energy infrastructure. The increase in planning fees is a justifiable measure to provide more adequate resources to planning authorities: but additional funding should be provided, and finances should be ring- fenced for local authorities.

We urge the Government to ensure that the planning authorities have adequate resources to obtain and develop the skills and capacity necessary to prevent the planning system being a bottleneck to the rollout of energy infrastructure. The increase in planning …

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2022

4 events
27 Oct 2022 | Committee report linked

The former Minister was reluctant to consider changes to the planning system, arguing that some councils are having successes with the planning tools available Exempt Accommodation 49 to them, and that raising the overall quality will reduce the negative impacts on communities and in turn reduce the need to control the spread of exempt accommodation. However, our evidence pointed out that there is a limit to what local strategies for exempt accommodation can achieve without planning reforms. ...

The former Minister was reluctant to consider changes to the planning system, arguing that some councils are having successes with the planning tools available Exempt Accommodation 49 to them, and that raising the overall quality will reduce the negative impacts …

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21 Oct 2022 | Committee report linked

There is a multiplicity of different bodies involved in securing planning consent for grid infrastructure and this process needs to be streamlined. We welcome the commitment to cutting processing times by fifty per cent and appreciate the challenge that this constitutes. However, in light of the evidence we received, it is clear that in order to meet government net zero and renewable energy generation targets a reduction in processing times of fifty per cent is the least that needs to happen.

There is a multiplicity of different bodies involved in securing planning consent for grid infrastructure and this process needs to be streamlined. We welcome the commitment to cutting processing times by fifty per cent and appreciate the challenge that this …

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1 Jun 2022 | Committee report linked

Without clear direction from the Government’s planning legislation and guidance, building desperately-needed new driver’s facilities, and even upgrading old ones, is a tortuous process. Local authorities in Kent, and other parts of the country where supply chain movements are prominent, face an impossible task and cannot be expected to elect to provide for lorry parks in their local plans in the face of opposition from residents impacted by such large projects. This is a national issue which ...

Without clear direction from the Government’s planning legislation and guidance, building desperately-needed new driver’s facilities, and even upgrading old ones, is a tortuous process. Local authorities in Kent, and other parts of the country where supply chain movements are prominent, …

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1 Jun 2022 | Committee report linked

The Government must build on its commitment in the Queen’s Speech to reform the existing planning framework and ensure that decisions for new driver facilities are not left to individual planning authorities. The Government must reform national planning policy to ensure that more driver facilities, which are fit for purpose and industry leading, are delivered. The Government must make an assessment as to whether the demand for new facilities can be delivered with only light reform. If it cann...

The Government must build on its commitment in the Queen’s Speech to reform the existing planning framework and ensure that decisions for new driver facilities are not left to individual planning authorities. The Government must reform national planning policy to …

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2021

11 events
10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

We are concerned about the lack of detail in respect of the proposed reforms to the planning system, which has made it very difficult to assess the possible practical implications of many of the reforms. The Government should consult on the details of proposed reforms to prevent unintended consequences and harms resulting from them. Given the complexity of the issues, and the possibility that its contents will differ from the proposals contained in the White Paper, the Planning Bill announced...

We are concerned about the lack of detail in respect of the proposed reforms to the planning system, which has made it very difficult to assess the possible practical implications of many of the reforms. The Government should consult on …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

The lack of details about the three areas approach has made it difficult to assess how it would function. Our evidence has suggested there are problems with the three areas proposal. These have included its potential unsuitability in urban areas; doubts over whether Local Plans will have the level of detail for developers to know whether their proposals will qualify for permission in principle and avoid using planning permission procedures; the uncertainty over the purposes of renewal areas; ...

The lack of details about the three areas approach has made it difficult to assess how it would function. Our evidence has suggested there are problems with the three areas proposal. These have included its potential unsuitability in urban areas; …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

If after reconsideration the Government does continue with the three areas approach, we recommend that as a minimum: • The Government should clearly explain how Local Plans will impose requirements on developments in an area. At present it appears to be proposing the current planning application system will continue to be available in growth and renewal areas for proposals that would not conform to the local plan requirements. The Government should set out what level of detail will be needed ...

If after reconsideration the Government does continue with the three areas approach, we recommend that as a minimum: • The Government should clearly explain how Local Plans will impose requirements on developments in an area. At present it appears to …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

We welcome the Government’s proposal that having an up to date Local Plan should be a statutory requirement on local authorities. We also welcome the proposal that Local Plans should be more focused and shorter. But we do not agree that the 30-month timeframe proposed for the development of Local Plans is enough to ensure high quality. We are particularly concerned about the challenges the proposal poses for statutory consultees, especially as all plans will have to be addressed within the sa...

We welcome the Government’s proposal that having an up to date Local Plan should be a statutory requirement on local authorities. We also welcome the proposal that Local Plans should be more focused and shorter. But we do not agree …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

We sympathise with the Government’s wish to enhance the importance of Local Plans in determining where development should take place. But achieving public acceptance of any increased importance for Local Plans requires them have credibility as an accurate reflection of public views in an area. Therefore, we were concerned by evidence that the second stage of public involvement, at the end of the Local Plan process, would happen simultaneously with the Plan being submitted to the Secretary of ...

We sympathise with the Government’s wish to enhance the importance of Local Plans in determining where development should take place. But achieving public acceptance of any increased importance for Local Plans requires them have credibility as an accurate reflection of …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

Increasing the speed at which Local Plans are developed and updating them will be resource hungry. The Government needs to clarify how such needs can be met and what resources will be applied to local authorities to enable them to achieve these ambitious timescales.

Increasing the speed at which Local Plans are developed and updating them will be resource hungry. The Government needs to clarify how such needs can be met and what resources will be applied to local authorities to enable them to …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

The duty to cooperate between local authorities has operated imperfectly. However, we heard strong agreement there needed to be more cooperation between local authorities and that sub-national planning was a weakness of the current system. The Government should only abolish the duty to cooperate when more effective mechanisms have been put in place to ensure cooperation. Whilst the duty to cooperate remains in place, the Government should give combined authorities the statutory powers to over...

The duty to cooperate between local authorities has operated imperfectly. However, we heard strong agreement there needed to be more cooperation between local authorities and that sub-national planning was a weakness of the current system. The Government should only abolish …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

The Government must commission research about the extent of public involvement in the planning system. This should precede the collection from local authorities and publishing of statistics about public involvement in Local Plans and in individual 102 The future of the planning system in England planning applications. Such research would give a clearer picture of the current situation and, in particular, at which point in the process people are most engaged.

The Government must commission research about the extent of public involvement in the planning system. This should precede the collection from local authorities and publishing of statistics about public involvement in Local Plans and in individual 102 The future of …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

We support enhancing public involvement with Local Plans. However, figures cited by the Minister suggest that far more people are involved at the point when individual planning applications are considered than at the local plan stage, and this was backed up by the evidence we have received. We also fear that people will resort to legal measures if they cannot comment upon and therefore influence an individual planning proposal. Therefore, all individuals must still be able to comment and infl...

We support enhancing public involvement with Local Plans. However, figures cited by the Minister suggest that far more people are involved at the point when individual planning applications are considered than at the local plan stage, and this was backed …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

We agree that the Government’s proposals omitted important issues that should be considered in any changes to the planning system. This was particularly true of the lack of consideration of non-housing issues. Different aspects of the planning system cannot be compartmentalised in this way. Housing cannot be treated in isolation from wider infrastructure, economic, leisure, and environmental activities and considerations. Therefore, in advance of a Planning Bill, the Government should include...

We agree that the Government’s proposals omitted important issues that should be considered in any changes to the planning system. This was particularly true of the lack of consideration of non-housing issues. Different aspects of the planning system cannot be …

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10 Jun 2021 | Committee report linked

There is a clear need for additional resources for local planning authorities and this was reflected in evidence from a wide range of sectors. The reduction in their funding is slowing down the workings of the planning system. The Government’s proposed reforms will require additional specialist skills, for example in areas such as design, on top of the existing resource pressures faced by the planning system. The Royal Town Planning Institute estimated that £500 million over four years was ne...

There is a clear need for additional resources for local planning authorities and this was reflected in evidence from a wide range of sectors. The reduction in their funding is slowing down the workings of the planning system. The Government’s …

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2020

1 event
9 Dec 2020 | Committee report linked

We have previously challenged the Department on its detailed plans and projections for how it would achieve its target of building 300,000 new homes per year by the mid- 2020s, most recently in our report Planning and the broken housing market. We were concerned that meeting the target of 300,000 new homes a year would need a significant step-up in the level of house building and that current levels of new homes were not promising. In June 2019, we recommended that, by October 2019, the Depar...

We have previously challenged the Department on its detailed plans and projections for how it would achieve its target of building 300,000 new homes per year by the mid- 2020s, most recently in our report Planning and the broken housing …

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