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NewsUK News · 31 Oct

England planning rules change as AI trials expand and councils warn of delays

New planning rules put more decisions in officers' hands as AI trials expand. Councils warn of democratic concerns and potential disruption.

Staff Reporter

New rules changing who decides planning applications in England have taken effect on Saturday 31 October 2026, as the government expands trials of an AI assistant. Ministers promise faster decisions, while councils are raising concerns about democratic oversight and, in some places, disruption.

Illustration of an English council building, home extension and digital planning drawings, with headline Planning Rules Change, AI Trials Expand
Illustration. Images © Fish 4 News.

The changes do not remove the need for planning permission or give computers the power to approve developments. Instead, they change which applications can be decided by professional council officers and which may reach a committee of elected councillors.

The government has paired its new National Scheme of Delegation with plans to expand an AI tool called PlanAssist, alongside a claim that government-backed programmes have recruited 420 additional planners. The measures apply to planning authorities in England, not automatically across the rest of the UK.

Which planning applications will change?

Under the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, certain categories of application must generally be determined by planning officers, rather than referred to an elected planning committee.

  • Householder applications: including qualifying proposals for home extensions and alterations.
  • Minor commercial applications: straightforward proposals falling within the legal definition.
  • Minor residential applications: certain smaller housing proposals, including developments of one to nine dwellings on sites smaller than 0.5 hectares.
  • Other routine approvals: several categories involving permitted development, conditions and certificates.

There are exceptions, including some applications connected with listed-building consent and those in which a council or its members or officers have an interest. Larger or more complex applications are not automatically guaranteed a committee hearing: a nominated senior planning officer and nominated committee member must agree that the case meets a specified test for referral.

The government’s statutory guidance says the purpose is to reserve committee attention for significant proposals and move routine decisions through the system more consistently. Committees deciding applications under the new regulations are also limited to a maximum of 13 members.

What happens to councillors and public objections?

One significant change is the removal of local arrangements that previously let ward councillors automatically require an application to go before a planning committee. A specified number of public objections will no longer automatically trigger a committee hearing either.

Residents can still make planning representations and objections, and councils must still consider relevant planning matters. But the number of objections alone will not determine whether councillors debate an application.

The Local Government Association (LGA) warned on 29 October that the changes could weaken the democratic role of planning committees and fail to reflect differences between local areas. It supports making the system more efficient but wants the government to review the effects on local accountability by October 2027, rather than the scheduled October 2028 review.

Bolton warns of an immediate planning hold-up

Bolton Council has provided an example of the difficulties some authorities face in switching to the new arrangements. In an official statement dated 28 October, it said councillors had voted against amending the council constitution at a meeting on 7 October.

Bolton says it cannot lawfully hold planning committee meetings or determine planning applications from 31 October until the necessary constitutional changes are approved. It can continue receiving and assessing applications, and councillors are due to reconsider the issue at a full council meeting on 10 November.

That is Bolton Council’s stated position about its own arrangements, not evidence that the planning system has stopped operating across England. The contrast illustrates how a reform intended to shorten waits can itself cause delays where councils have not completed the transition.

What is PlanAssist, and does AI decide applications?

According to the government’s announcement on 30 October, PlanAssist was developed with Google DeepMind, Google Cloud, Faculty and local authorities. It gathers planning applications, local policies and site constraints in one place to help trained officers review the evidence.

The government says early testing reduced the time spent on selected planning tasks by 58% and helped reduce processing times for routine householder applications from eight weeks to four. Those are reported results from early testing, not independently established nationwide performance figures or a new four-week guarantee for every applicant.

The pilot began with Camden, Barnet and Dorset councils. A further 12 authorities are joining a 12-month expansion, taking the total to 15. Ministers intend to make the technology available to all councils in England by the end of 2027.

Planning officers remain responsible for reviewing applications and making decisions. PlanAssist is designed to support that work; the government has not said that AI will independently grant or refuse planning permission.

What does this mean if you are applying for planning permission?

  • An ordinary extension or small commercial application may be decided by a planning officer without waiting for a committee meeting, where it is covered by the new rules.
  • The normal need to check whether permission is required, submit an application and meet relevant planning policies remains.
  • If you want to object to a neighbouring scheme, you can still submit a representation, but a large number of objections will not itself force a committee hearing.
  • The government’s four-week figure comes from early AI testing. It is not a promise that your local authority will decide an application within four weeks.
  • Applicants in an area reporting transition difficulties, such as Bolton, should check their council’s current planning notices.

What remains uncertain?

The new rules are in force, but their effects on decision times, the extent of democratic scrutiny and the consistency of planning decisions will have to be assessed in practice. It is also too early to know whether the PlanAssist results reported from initial testing will be repeated across the wider group of councils.

For now, England has a new method for allocating planning decisions, an expanding AI trial and a live disagreement about how much power elected councillors should retain.

Sources