Planning Just Got Faster: The New National Rules Set to Speed Up Your Extension or Self-Build
From 31 October 2026, a new national law — the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026 — means most house extensions, renovations and small new build schemes must be decided by a council planning officer, not a committee. Larger or more contentious applications can still reach committee, but only if they pass a new "gateway test." It applies to every council in England, including across Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
We recently sat in on a seminar covering these changes in detail, and while some of the finer local detail is still being worked out by individual councils, the shape of the new system is now clear enough to explain plainly — so here's what it means for you.
What's actually changing on 31 October 2026?
For the first time, central government is setting a national scheme of delegation for planning applications — rather than leaving it entirely to each council to decide what goes to committee and what an officer can approve under delegated powers. The regulations also cap planning committees at no more than 13 members.
In practice, this splits every application into one of two categories:
Schedule 1 applications — these must be decided by a planning officer, not a committee.
Schedule 2 applications — these are eligible to go to committee, but only if they pass a new "gateway test."
Will my house extension go to a planning committee?
No. Schedule 1 — the category that must be decided by an officer, with no route to committee at all — covers:
Householder applications (i.e. most house extensions and alterations)
Minor commercial applications
Minor residential applications (1–9 dwellings, on a site under 0.5 hectares)
Permission in Principle, and Non-Material Amendments to a Permission in Principle
Section 73 applications linked to a Schedule 1 permission
Section 106 variations or discharges connected to a Schedule 1 permission
Certificates of Lawfulness (existing or proposed use/development) and Certificates of Alternative Development
Reserved Matters applications following an Outline permission — except large-scale outlines (500+ houses or 50,000+ sqm of floorspace)
Prior Approvals
In plain English: if you're extending your home, converting a barn under a modest outline consent, or bringing forward a small residential scheme, your application is guaranteed to be determined by a case officer rather than sitting on a committee agenda. That's a genuinely useful point of certainty for homeowners and small-scale developers, since committee dates can add weeks or months to a project timeline.
Which applications could still go to a planning committee?
Schedule 2 covers everything that isn't Schedule 1, plus some specific categories:
Listed Building Consent (including Section 19 variations and linked planning applications)
Any application that isn't a householder, minor commercial or minor residential proposal
Section 73 and Section 73A applications linked to a Schedule 2 permission
Section 106 agreements linked to a Schedule 2 permission
Reserved Matters for large-scale outlines (500+ dwellings or 50,000+ sqm)
Advertisement Consent
Applications for works to trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order
Importantly, sitting in Schedule 2 doesn't mean automatic committee determination. It means the application becomes eligible to be tested against the new gateway criteria — and most Schedule 2 applications are still expected to be decided by officers.
What is the planning "gateway test"?
This is the part that's genuinely new, and the part where local interpretation will matter most. Each council decides for itself:
which Schedule 2 application types can be put through the gateway test in the first place, and
which applications actually trigger the "significance" test needed to reach committee.
Each authority will set this out in its own constitution — a process being described as "triaging" of Schedule 2 applications — and councils are expected to keep (and publish) a record of every case put through the test, along with the outcome and reasoning.
To pass the gateway and reach committee, an application must satisfy at least one of two statutory criteria:
(a) Issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area, or
(b) Significant planning matters, having regard to the development plan and other material considerations
The statutory guidance gives some steer on what's likely to count. Examples given as likely to meet criterion (a) include outline permission for a large multi-phase residential scheme, a change of use away from a community shop in a rural area, or planning/listed building consent affecting a notable listed building in a town centre. By contrast, examples given as unlikely to meet criterion (b) include an application that's in broad compliance with allocated sites, local policy and the NPPF, or one where a statutory consultee raised a matter (such as highways or flood risk) that has since been suitably addressed through amendments.
What does this mean for projects across Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire?
Because this is a national change rather than a single-council policy, it applies everywhere we work — from Newark and Sherwood, Rushcliffe, West Bridgford, Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Gedling, Mansfield and Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, through South Kesteven, West Lindsey and the wider Lincolnshire authorities, to Charnwood and Melton in Leicestershire and North East Derbyshire and Amber Valley in Derbyshire. Every planning authority in England has to implement the same national scheme of delegation from 31 October 2026 — but, as set out above, each one still sets its own local triaging rules within its constitution, so the detail of how it's applied won't be identical council to council.
A few practical takeaways from where we sit:
If you're extending or altering your home, this change should work in your favour wherever your project is — householder applications stay firmly with officers everywhere, with no route to committee at all.
If you're bringing forward a small residential scheme or self-build, the same applies, provided you stay under the 1–9 dwellings / 0.5 hectare threshold, regardless of which of our four counties the site is in.
If your project is larger, more contentious, or affects a listed building, it's worth understanding early which side of the gateway test it's likely to fall on — a well-prepared application that clearly aligns with adopted local policy and the NPPF is far more likely to stay with an officer than one that raises genuine local significance or unresolved planning matters.
Expect local variation between authorities. Because each council sets its own triaging rules within its constitution, how this plays out in, say, Newark and Sherwood may differ from how it plays out in South Kesteven, Charnwood or North East Derbyshire — something worth bearing in mind for anyone with sites straddling authority boundaries, particularly against the backdrop of the wider Nottinghamshire local government reorganisation already on the horizon for 2027–2028.
With just over six weeks until the regulations come into force, councils across all four of our counties are actively finalising exactly how their own gateway and triaging arrangements will work. We'll be watching this closely across our whole operating area and will follow up as individual councils' constitutional detail is confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
When do the new planning delegation rules come into force?
The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026 come into force on 31 October 2026, with a statutory government review due by 31 October 2028.
Will a house extension application go to a planning committee under the new rules?
No. House extensions and other householder applications sit in Schedule 1, which must be decided by a council planning officer under the new rules, with no route to a committee vote.
What is a "gateway test" in planning?
It's the new test a Schedule 2 application must pass to reach a planning committee. It must meet at least one of two statutory criteria: significant economic, social or environmental impact on the local area, or a significant planning matter relative to the development plan and other material considerations. Each council decides which Schedule 2 applications it puts through the test.
Does the new national scheme of delegation apply everywhere in England?
Yes. It's a national regulation, so every local planning authority in England — including all councils across Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire — must implement the same Schedule 1 / Schedule 2 split from 31 October 2026, though each sets its own local triaging rules for Schedule 2 applications.
How many members can a planning committee have under the new rules?
No more than 13.
If you're planning an extension, renovation, or new development and want to understand how these changes might affect your project's route through the planning system, get in touch or book a free consultation to discuss your project — we track policy changes like this as part of every planning strategy we put together.
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