The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has opened a consultation on its plans to give mayors power to “call-in” planning permissions.
Planning powers for mayors in England outlines the scope of proposals to allow regional mayors to take over large-scale planning applications and direct councils to accept or refuse them, first revealed in an interview with prime minister Andy Burnham over the weekend.
Under the proposals, mayors in 13 areas are to be given similar powers to those of the London mayor Sadiq Khan, who can “call in“ planning decisions on developments with more than 150 homes, as well as commercial space of more than 15,000 square metres and buildings over 30 metres.
Writing in the ministerial foreword to the consultation, minister of state for housing and planning Matthew Pennycook said the government was committed to a “fundamental rewiring of the way our country works, surrendering power that for too long has been held in Westminster and Whitehall, and returning it to people and the places where they live, work and invest”.
Pennycook when on to say that “an effective planning system is integral to meeting housing need, speeding up infrastructure delivery and enabling our towns and cities to realise their full economic potential”.
He added: “While the government has an essential role to play in setting the framework of national planning policy, standards and regulation, it is local leaders, including mayors, who should be overseeing the strategic direction of development in their areas.”
In an effort to increase house building to meet the 1.5 million new homes target set by the Labour government in its election manifesto, the proposals would allow mayors to take over large scale planning applications and instruct a council a take them forward or refuse them. Burnham said the move could help achieve the building of the largest number of council houses since the second world war.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Burnham explained how he had asked regional mayors what red tape needed to be cut and what blockages needed to be removed. The response, he said, was to give mayors “call-in powers” that would “overrule ‘not in my back yard’ [nimby] councils refusing to build”.
“I think we’ve got to face up to this as a country,” he told the Sunday Times. “The grip of the housing crisis tightens every year, and that’s obviously a problem for people.”
Challenged on whether overruling councils would “disempower councillors, MPs and the people they represent” the prime minister responded: “I can understand that argument. Sometimes … challenge does need to be made to local decision-making, and actually it cuts both ways. It’s not all about Nimbyism. Sometimes it’s the other way round. It’s a local authority putting forward something that’s unacceptable in terms of the impact on the community … so it’s a two-way street.
“The question is: do you want somebody who’s elected by the people of that area to consider a decision, or a far less accountable decision-making process?”
The consultation asks for feedback to prepare secondary legislation on the definition of application categories which would come under the powers, namely applications of potential strategic importance (PSI, and on what basis intervention might take place. It indicates secondary legislation would be laid before parliament by the end of the year, with implementation to commence in early 2027.
Planning has been on the government agenda in recent days with the government announcing loosening of planning policy to try and encourage the building of thousands of new homes around England’s train, tram and underground stations, including on greenbelt land, under changes to the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The publication of the updated NPPF last week also revealed clearer policies relating to what should be considered when making planning decisions, including transport, pollution, protected landscapes and safety for women and girls, supporting more types of development and giving flexibility to different types of accommodation, and recognising the role of strategic sites.
At the same time, reports from both Savills and the Home Builders Federation reveal the scale of the issue facing the government with home completions remaining flat, and the number of new home sites granted planning permission fell. According to the latest English Housing Supply update from Savills, 202,7000 homes were built in the year to Q2 2026, reflecting only a 0.4% rise compared to the last quarter.
Savills predicts housing delivery will remain static at almost 100,000 homes short of the government policy target. The figures are reflected in the Home Builders Federation’s latest Housing Pipeline report, based on data from Glenigan. Approval for just over 54,000 homes was granted in the first three months of this year – significantly below the level needed to achieve the government’s ambition for 300,000 annually, as housing supply and new consents for future delivery “continue to flatline” at around 200,000 per annum.
