England’s metro mayors are to gain powers to call in major planning applications, bringing them into line with London, the government has announced.
Under the proposals, mayors will be able to take over key planning applications that impact local growth, directing a council to approve or refuse them.
Industry reaction was broadly supportive of the principle of devolving planning powers, though several respondents raised questions over resourcing, thresholds and how the new powers will interact with the existing planning system.
According to the announcement, national thresholds are being set outside London for the first time: schemes of more than 150 homes, more than 15,000 sq. metres of commercial space, or any building over 30 metres – roughly 10 storeys – will fall within scope.
Mayors will also be able to grant up-front permission for development, allowing building to begin without a developer having to apply.
Councils will continue to decide the majority of applications, the ministry says, with several already delivering homes at scale. Over the last three years, Salford has delivered 7,584 homes against a requirement of 4,249, Leeds has delivered 11,690 homes against a requirement of 10,151, and Knowsley has delivered 1,888 against a requirement of 772.
Every decision must follow planning rules, the local plan and national policy, the government said. Applicants retain the right of appeal, and ministers keep a backstop power to intervene themselves.
Mayors will also have a bigger say over how national housing funding is spent in their areas. Homes England will continue to lead on the largest projects, but its funding and expertise will be focused on priorities agreed by local mayors.
A £1.3bn portion of the national fund for land and infrastructure has already been allocated to the seven most established mayoral areas, with a further £234m of brownfield funding to seven mayoral strategic authorities, and £1.5bn committed for devolution through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
Mayors outside London will also be able to charge a levy on development to fund major infrastructure, using the same mechanism that helped deliver London’s Elizabeth line.
Reaction
Tom Arnold, policy manager at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “The proposed planning powers for mayors … could have a significant impact on how decisions about the development of new homes are made.
“The government has announced its intention to rewire the state, giving more power to regional and local leaders over decisions that affect the communities they represent. Planning has a major role to play in achieving this vision, and these new powers – if used properly – could help deliver more homes and infrastructure to meet local needs.
“The government will need to support mayoral strategic authorities to build capacity if these new powers are to be used effectively. Local authority planning departments are also under pressure, with staff shortages and budget cuts impacting the ability of councils to determine applications and plan for the future. Devolution will only work effectively if local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities are properly resourced and empowered to work together.”
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England (pictured), said: “As our region continues to take on more powers and funding as part of the devolution revolution, this announcement is another exciting step forward. Having more influence over how national housing funding is spent will help us get new homes built where they’re needed most – together with the transport and services that local communities deserve.
“More control over how we tackle the housing crisis in our region can turbo-charge the work we are already doing together, including with Homes England. This is great news for people across the West of England who are waiting for social housing and saving to get onto the property ladder. Like our local councils, we will be looking closely at the detailed proposals.
“Call-in powers have been used in the capital by the mayor of London for many years, and it’s right that our region is fast catching up. Mindful of this responsibility, my approach, now and in the future, remains the same: carefully considering all planning applications at the appropriate stage, looking at all the evidence.”
Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, had some doubts about the proposals. He said: “Giving mayors greater powers to unlock development could help speed up decision making, particularly for larger schemes that have become stalled in the planning system.
“However, changing who makes the decisions does not change the underlying economics of development. Developers are still contending with elevated construction costs, taxes, levies and regulatory requirements, while affordability pressures and softer demand continue to weigh on the housing market.
“The new proposals could add to those pressures, with mayors outside London potentially able to charge a levy on development to help fund major infrastructure. This approach has had some success in practice, but it needs to be monitored carefully. Adding another levy to developers’ costs risks putting another brake on activity.
“The government clearly has to find the funding for infrastructure somewhere, but there is a balance to strike. Asking developers to shoulder more of that burden could prove counterproductive when they are the very businesses being relied upon to deliver the new homes the government wants to see.”
Simon Cox, managing director at Walter Cooper, said: “Giving mayors the power to call in individual sites raises some big questions about how this will work in practice, including what criteria they will use to decide which applications warrant their intervention, and what experience they will have in making those judgements.
“There is also a need to understand how this interacts with the existing planning process. If a planning committee refuses an application, it can already be taken to appeal and considered by an independent inspector, while the secretary of state also has powers to call in certain planning decisions. If a mayor can then call the scheme in, we need to understand how those different routes will fit together, whether they will overlap, and whether the new power risks adding another layer of complexity.”
Main image: Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England
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