Weekly planning news

The English Devolution Bill is here, but what’s changing?

The government has published its long-awaited English Devolution Bill. The bill sets a framework for a standardised approach to devolving powers to local areas, aiming to empower communities and streamline decision-making across planning and local government. 

One key takeaway? Going forward, mayors of strategic authorities will have planning and regeneration powers -just like the Mayor of London does.  

What does the bill say? 

At its core, the legislation clarifies the routes to devolution, reflecting the different stages and ambitions of local areas. These include: 

• Established mayoral strategic authorities 
• Mayoral strategic authorities 
• Non-mayoral foundation strategic authorities 
• Single local authority foundation strategic authorities 

The bill provides these categories with clearer paths to greater autonomy, supported by new frameworks that reflect the government’s wider goal of consistency across planning. 

Mayoral reform

A key focus is expanding the powers available to mayors. Those operating under a spatial development strategy will gain powers on par with the Mayor of London. This includes the ability to: 

• Direct the refusal of planning applications of strategic importance (thresholds to be defined in regulation) 
• Call in such applications for their own determination 
• Create Mayoral Development Orders and Mayoral Development Corporations 
• Levy a Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), subject to an adopted SDS 
• Appoint and remunerate “Commissioners” to oversee specific statutory areas 
• Prepare a Local Growth Plan 

Local Government reorganisation

The bill also proposes significant structural reforms to local government. It grants the Secretary of State the ability to instruct existing two-tier local authorities to develop proposals to transition into unitary authorities. In certain cases, it could also lead to the amalgamation of existing unitary councils. 

Additionally, the bill mandates that all councils adopt a cabinet-style governance model and explicitly prohibits the creation of any new local authority mayors. 

Community rights and land ownership 

The bill also aims to bolster the system for managing Assets of Community. 

Currently, community groups can bid to purchase listed assets before they are sold, but there’s no obligation for owners to accept those bids - an aspect often criticised as limiting the scheme’s effectiveness. The new legislation addresses this by proposing the following improvements: 

• Extending the sale moratorium period to 12 months 
• Requiring pricing to be determined through negotiation or an independent valuation 
• Introducing progress checks during the moratorium 
• Broadening the ACV definition to include assets of economic or historical importance 
• Granting community groups the right to appeal against local authority decisions not to list assets 
• Providing local authorities with updated guidance to support the implementation of these changes 

Whilst the headline changes in the devolution bill all pertain to somewhat disparate elements of the current planning system, the bill is unique in that it provides a proscriptive, standardised framework to enable areas to devolve power. This is something we haven’t had before, and seems to reflect government’s broader ambition to bring greater consistency and standardisation to planning policy and processes across the country. 

You can find out more about the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill by visiting the government's website.¹

1.5 million homes target 'stretched', admits Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner has admitted government’s 1.5 million housing target is ‘stretched’. In a select committee appearance, Rayner said she was ‘confident’ government can meet its housing target for the term, provided things are moving ‘in the right direction’. 

As reported by Planning Resource,² speaking before the select committee on 8 July the deputy prime minister pointed to revisions to national planning policy and new legislation as crucial levers to unlock development. 

She cited updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December of last year, and in the more recent Planning and Infrastructure Bill, as core elements in government’s strategy to deliver growth and speed up housing. The NPPF reforms, she said, will support more ‘pro-growth’ decision making at a local level and give clarity to councils and developers alike. 

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill - which cleared the Commons in June and is currently at committee stage in the Lords - proposes a national scheme of delegation designed to streamline decision making. Under the new system, only applications raising ‘significant’ planning issues would go to committee, while more straightforward cases would be determined by officers. 

Rayner also underlined the introduction of ‘brownfield passports’, which clarify what types of development are considered acceptable in principle on previously developed urban land, as essential to streamlining this kind of development.  

In reference to mandatory housing targets, she said ‘We’re taking a carrot and stick approach…But everything has to be going in the right direction, with the wind behind us.’ 

She acknowledged that while the government’s internal indicators – such as planning applications and permissions – are expected to rise in 2027 and 2028, reaching the 1.5 million homes target by the end of this parliament remains a significant challenge. ‘It’s a stretched target,’ Rayner admitted. ‘But if we get these mechanisms working properly, we can deliver.’ 

As we’ve seen, early signs suggest the market is beginning to respond. Our Planning Application Index, which analysed Q1 data from this year, revealed a notable uptick in application numbers - a positive indicator of renewed developer confidence and early momentum behind the government’s housing ambitions. You can read the full report here. ³

Stay tuned for the next edition of our Planning Application Index, where we’ll share Q2 planning application figures, well ahead of the government’s stats release. 

A town after all? Solihull move to reclassify villages to prevent 'grey belt' development

Solihull Council has proposed reclassify four of its largest rural settlements as towns, in a bid to strengthen their protection from development under grey belt rules. 

Officers have recommended that Knowle, Dorridge, Bentley Heath and Balsall Common all be reclassified as ‘towns’. The move comes amid growing concern over how green belt protections and rules are interpreted, following national policy changes and subsequent decisions. 

According to Planning Resource,⁴ a report presented to the council on 10 June outlined how the ‘village’ label, traditionally used for areas outside the urban core, may no longer be appropriate under the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Officers argued that while the term was once largely symbolic, it now carries significant weight in determining whether green belt land can be reclassified as grey belt. 

Grey belt, introduced in December as part of NPPF revisions, refers to parts of the green belt that have already been developed or which no longer strongly meet key green belt purposes, such as preventing urban sprawl. It’s a designation that opens up these parcels of land to development, where under previous green belt designation development would have been prohibited or much more difficult to achieve. 

Following the introduction of grey belt, the issue of settlement ‘merging’ became a consistent sticking point in high-profile decisions, sparking ongoing debate and controversy over whether or not an area should be designated as grey belt. 

In guidance published earlier this year, the government clarified that villages do not count as ‘large built-up areas’ for the purpose of assessing whether green belt land qualifies as grey belt. As a result, land around villages could be more vulnerable to development than that around towns. 

Planning decision data to be standardised

Building on the recent launch of their extract tool and the piloting of a new data standard for planning applications, the government has confirmed plans to further standardise and the planning process - this time making particular reference to planning decision data. 

In a blog post⁵ published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on 8 July, they emphasised that standardisation must apply to the entire planning journey, not just to submitted applications. To that end, they are now ‘kick-starting’ a new project to explore how planning decisions can be captured and shared in a consistent, structured way. 

This latest development is part of MHCLG’s wider ‘roadmap to mandation’ - a phased programme designed to test and refine digital planning standards through pilot schemes. Once a standard achieves “candidate status,” mandation is expected within 12 months.

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-devolution-and-community-empowerment-bill-guidance/english-devolution-and-community-empowerment-bill-guidance
2. https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1925071/government-needs-everything-going-right-direction-deliver-stretched-15-million-home-target-rayner-tells-mps
3. https://www.terraquest.co.uk/news-and-insights/the-planning-application-index-q1-25
4. https://mcas-proxyweb.mcas.ms/certificate-checker?login=false&originalUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.planningresource.co.uk.mcas.ms%2Farticle%2F1924904%2Fcouncil-proposes-redefining-four-villages-towns-protect-national-grey-belt-policy%3FMcasTsid%3D20892&McasCSRF=7652649563682ca0b2c970305da2ae8b2da3ab0ba43722e27bd2752302a272a6
5. https://mcas-proxyweb.mcas.ms/certificate-checker?login=false&originalUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk.mcas.ms%2F2025%2F07%2F08%2Fstandardising-the-planning-application-process-progress-and-next-steps%2F%3FMcasTsid%3D20892&McasCSRF=7652649563682ca0b2c970305da2ae8b2da3ab0ba43722e27bd2752302a272a6