Comment: Government changes to local planning risk shutting residents out

This is a comment article by Councillor David Jones (Reform UK, Castleton), a member of Rochdale Borough Council's Planning Committee. The views expressed are his own.

As a member of Rochdale Council's Planning Committee, I want to make residents aware of significant changes being introduced by the Labour Government to the way planning applications are decided.

From 31 October 2026, a new national system will divide planning applications into two schedules.

Schedule 1 applications must be decided by planning officers, with no option for them to be brought before the Planning Committee. This will include householder applications, minor commercial developments and some residential developments of up to nine homes. Regardless of the level of local concern, these applications will not receive a public decision by elected members.

For Schedule 2 applications, the starting assumption will also be that they are decided by officers. They will only come before the Planning Committee if they meet a test relating to significant local or planning issues, and both a nominated senior planning officer and the chair of the Planning Committee agree that committee consideration is warranted. If they cannot agree, the application will remain with officers.

Perhaps most concerningly, ward councillors will lose the ability to call a planning application before the committee. Councils will also be unable to guarantee committee consideration simply because an application has attracted a large number of objections.

Residents will still be able to submit comments and objections, and relevant planning concerns must still be considered. However, making an objection is not the same as having the application examined and debated publicly by elected councillors.

HMOs are a major concern for many Castleton residents. Where an HMO proposal requires planning permission, residents may submit objections, but neither they nor their ward councillor will be able to guarantee that it receives a public committee hearing. Instead, that decision will rest with a senior officer and the committee chair.

The Government says these changes will provide greater consistency and allow committees to concentrate on the most significant developments.

I understand the need for an efficient planning system, but I do not believe efficiency should come at the expense of local democracy.

A planning application that appears "minor" on paper can have a major impact on the people living beside it. Local circumstances cannot always be understood through a national classification or an officer's written report.

In my view, removing councillors' call-in powers takes away an important democratic safeguard. It weakens the ability of elected representatives to ensure that residents' legitimate concerns are heard and debated publicly.

This is not about councillors ignoring planning law or blocking development without proper grounds. It is about retaining openness, accountability and meaningful local representation in decisions that can permanently affect our neighbourhoods.

I will continue to speak up for Castleton residents and raise my concerns about any change that further distances local people from decisions affecting where they live.

Greater consistency should not mean less democracy, and faster decisions should not mean residents having less of a say.