From 31 October, Bromsgrove councillors can no longer call a planning application in to committee. Officers decide most; a two-person gateway picks the rest.

From Saturday 31 October, your district councillor can no longer “call in” a planning application in their ward so that the Planning Committee decides it. That right ends under a national scheme the government has made compulsory for every council in England.

Bromsgrove District Council adopted the new rules at its meeting on 14 October. It did so under protest. In its own announcement, the council said members “noted its dissatisfaction” with the loss of local flexibility over which applications reach the committee.

What changes on 31 October

The council report to the 14 October meeting sets out the new system. It comes from the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, made on 15 July. The report says the council “has no choice” but to adopt them.

Every application now falls into one of two lists.

Schedule 1 Schedule 2
Who decides Must be decided by officers Officers, unless it passes a “gateway test”
Examples in the report Householder extensions, minor residential (1 to 9 homes on under half a hectare), minor commercial, discharge of conditions, lawful development certificates, prior approval Major applications, listed building consent, reserved matters on large outline permissions

So a neighbour’s extension, a small infill scheme of a few homes or a shop conversion can never go to the committee, however strongly the street feels about it.

The gateway test

A Schedule 2 application only goes to the Planning Committee if it raises:

  • an issue of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area, or
  • a significant planning matter, judged against the local plan and other material considerations

Two people decide that. The “nominated officer” is the council’s chief planning officer, the Assistant Director of Planning, Leisure and Culture Services. The “nominated member” is the chair of the Planning Committee. They will meet at least once a month.

If the two disagree, the officers decide the application. The report says that outcome is set by the regulations, and the pair’s decision is final.

Officers will keep a written record of every gateway decision. The report says a schedule of them “will be available to view online”.

Where your councillor still comes in

Ward councillors are still told about applications in their ward. For a Schedule 2 application, they can ask for it to go to committee by writing to the Assistant Director within 21 days of being notified. The request has to argue the case against the two gateway grounds above; a general objection is not enough.

Public speaking stays the same for applications that do reach the committee. The council’s planning procedure rules still give three minutes each to:

  • objectors
  • the applicant or supporters
  • the parish council
  • ward councillors

Objectors can speak in person, by video link or send a written statement, which is read out for them.

Applications already in the system

There is no transition period. The report warns that applications “previously on course” for a decision by officers or by committee “will be subject to a change of decision maker” from 31 October. If you objected to something on the understanding that it would go to committee, that may no longer happen.

Applications made by councillors, council officers, their close relatives or the council itself are treated as “own-interest” applications. The council has chosen to keep sending most of these to committee, for openness, as its planning code of conduct already requires.

What the council says

The report notes that councils in England already delegated more than 96% of planning decisions to officers in the year to December 2025. The council says its version of the scheme is designed to keep about the same balance as before, so that the gateway is not swamped with routine cases.

Councillor Sue Baxter, the cabinet member for planning, has agreed to write to the housing minister setting out the council’s position. “It is no secret that many members of this council are disappointed by what we see as a dilution of local democratic involvement in some planning decisions,” she said.

The council leader, Councillor Karen May, said: “The rules may have changed nationally, but our commitment to listening to and representing our communities has not.”

The council will review how the new arrangements are working after six months, which would be around the end of April 2027.

What it means for you

  • Object in writing, and early. For most applications, your written comments to the council are now the only way your view reaches whoever decides, because there will be no committee hearing to speak at.
  • Talk to your councillor within the 21 days. For bigger schemes, a councillor’s request to send it to committee has to be made within 21 days of them being told about it, and must address the gateway grounds.
  • Small schemes stay with officers. Householder and minor applications of up to nine homes cannot be called in at all.
  • Watch the gateway list. Once the council publishes its schedule of gateway decisions, it will show which applications are going to committee.

Our Bromsgrove planning news page tracks the district’s larger applications and decisions.

Sources