Planning shake up to see most decisions made by officers instead of councillors

The workload of the council’s planning committee in Portsmouth could shrink by 80 per cent under new rules.

Portsmouth City Council has formally adopted new arrangements for deciding some planning applications.

Under the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which received royal assent in December, the government introduced a national scheme of delegation (NSD).

The NSD divides planning applications into two categories. Schedule one applications, including houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and other minor residential developments, will be decided by planning officers rather than councillors.

A key exception is applications made by the council itself, or where councillors or officers have an interest.

Schedule two applications, such as listed building consent and major developments including regeneration schemes or blocks of flats, may still be determined by the planning committee.

Answering questions from members, Ian Maguire, the council’s assistant director of planning, clarified that the changes will not remove residents’ ability to object to planning applications, with all objections still considered when decisions are made.

For schedule two applications, he said comments from local ward councillors would be taken into account when deciding whether to delegate a decision or refer it to committee, depending on the “merit of the statement”.

He said that in the 12 months after March 2025, 109 applications were considered by the planning committee, but only 25 of those would be eligible to go before the committee under the new rules.

He estimated that around 200 planning applications are currently considered by the committee each year.

“I am anticipating something like an 80 per cent reduction of business,” said.

The government’s stated aim for the NSD is to “ensure greater clarity and consistency” in the role of planning committees.

Supporters argue the new rules will speed up the planning process and allow councillors to focus on the area’s most significant proposals.

Cabinet member Councillor Hugh Mason previously said the new regulations represent an “affront to democracy” that will change the “whole dynamic” of how planning has traditionally been run.

The changes are due to come into force in October 31. Planning authorities that fail to comply with the new regulations could face legal challenge.