Homeowners looking to extend or convert their loft, and small businesses improving their premises, could get faster planning decisions under new rules to cut unnecessary delays
From now on, expert planning officers will decide straightforward planning applications instead of waiting for a planning committee slot, helping families, shopkeepers and pub landlords get decisions sooner.
The new National Scheme of Delegation will give applicants greater certainty, while freeing up councillors to focus on the most significant developments.
Housing secretary Angela Rayner stated: “We’re giving councils the people, tools and reforms they need to get applications moving faster, while freeing up planners and councillors to focus on the developments that will deliver the homes and infrastructure communities need.”
Government-backed programmes have recruited 420 new planners
Families and businesses could also get quicker planning decisions thanks to 420 newly recruited planners through government-backed programmes, surpassing the government’s 2024 manifesto commitment to recruit 300 additional planners more than two years before the end of this Parliament.
“We’ve already beaten our manifesto commitment to recruit 300 planners, and we’re going further with 1,400 new recruits across the planning system by the end of this Parliament,” Rayner said.
New AI tool to help make faster planning decisions
New AI technology designed to take time-consuming admin off planners’ desks will also help homeowners get quicker decisions on applications, such as permission for a house extension or a conservatory.
Developed with Google DeepMind, Google Cloud, Faculty and local authorities, PlanAssist brings together applications, policies and site constraints into one place for trained officers to review. Early testing cut time spent on key planning tasks by 58% – helping us halve processing times for routine householder applications from eight weeks to four.
Following a successful trial in Camden, Barnet and Dorset Councils, the tool will now expand to 15 councils for 12 months, with the government intending to make it available to every council in England by the end of 2027.
“This is what putting AI to work for the public looks like in practice. By slashing the time spent on routine planning tasks by more than half, we’re helping families get quicker answers while freeing up skilled planners to focus on the major developments that will get Britain building,” explained AI minister Kanishka Narayan.
With householder applications accounting for nearly 70% of applications each year, the changes will get more everyday applications moving, delivering a faster, more efficient planning service for residents and businesses and giving planners more time to tackle complex cases.
