Mayors across England are set to gain new powers to intervene in major planning applications, giving them greater control over developments considered important to economic growth and regeneration.
Under proposals due to be published next week, mayors will be able to ‘call in’ significant planning applications and either take the decision themselves or direct the relevant council to approve or reject an application.
The new powers will bring mayors outside London closer to the planning powers already held by the Mayor of London. Ten mayors from across the political spectrum have backed the changes.
National thresholds will be used to determine which developments can be called in. Outside London, these will include schemes of more than 150 homes, developments providing more than 15,000 square metres of commercial space, and buildings taller than 30 metres – roughly the height of a ten-storey building.
Mayors will also be given the ability to grant planning permission in advance for certain types of development, allowing construction to begin without developers having to submit a separate planning application.
Despite the expanded mayoral role, councils will remain responsible for the majority of planning decisions. The government points to the performance of several authorities as evidence that local planning systems can already deliver homes at scale. Over the past three years, Salford delivered 7,584 homes against a requirement of 4,249, while Leeds delivered 11,690 against a target of 10,151. Knowsley delivered 1,888 homes, more than twice its requirement of 772.
Any decisions taken by mayors will still have to comply with planning legislation, local plans and national planning policy. Developers will retain their existing right of appeal, while ministers will continue to have a backstop power to intervene.
The proposals will also give mayors greater influence over how national housing and infrastructure funding is deployed in their regions. Homes England will continue to oversee the largest schemes, but its funding and expertise will increasingly be directed towards priorities agreed with local mayors.
The government says £1.3 billion from the national land and infrastructure fund has already been allocated to seven of the most established mayoral areas. A further £234 million in brownfield funding has been provided to seven mayoral combined authorities, while £1.5 billion has been committed to devolution through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
Mayors outside London are also set to gain the ability to introduce a development levy to help pay for major infrastructure projects.
The measure is modelled on the approach used to support the Elizabeth line in London, which has increased rail capacity while helping to unlock housing development and regeneration. The service has since become the UK’s busiest railway service.
The government says the changes are intended to give mayors greater influence over the developments and infrastructure needed to support growth, while retaining councils’ role in determining most planning applications.
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