Mayors across England are set to receive significantly greater control over major planning decisions under new government proposals designed to accelerate housebuilding, unlock
investment and give regional leaders a stronger role in shaping economic growth.
The reforms, due to be formally published next week, would allow mayors to “call in” major planning applications and take responsibility for decisions that could have a substantial impact on housing, jobs, infrastructure and the wider local economy.
Under the proposed system, a mayor would be able to take over a qualifying planning application from a local council and either instruct the authority to approve it or direct that the proposal be refused. The changes would bring mayoral authorities outside London closer to the planning powers already held by the Mayor of London.
The new national thresholds would apply to major developments involving more than 150 homes, over 15,000 square metres of commercial space, or buildings exceeding 30 metres in height — roughly equivalent to ten storeys.
The government says the changes are intended to give elected mayors greater influence over projects that extend beyond the interests of a single council and are important to the wider development of their regions.
The proposals have received backing from 10 mayors representing different political parties, according to the government.
Mayors would also gain the ability to provide planning permission in advance for certain areas or types of development. The aim is to remove some of the uncertainty and delay faced by developers, allowing construction to begin without requiring a separate planning application for every individual project covered by the permission.
Local councils, however, would remain responsible for the vast majority of planning applications. The government has pointed to several authorities that have already exceeded their housing targets as evidence that councils can deliver substantial numbers of new homes.
In Salford, 7,584 homes were delivered over the past three years against a requirement of 4,249. Leeds delivered 11,690 homes compared with a target of 10,151, while Knowsley built 1,888 homes — more than twice its requirement of 772.
The government insists that mayoral intervention will not remove existing planning safeguards. Decisions will still have to comply with local plans, national planning policy and other statutory requirements. Developers will retain their existing rights of appeal, while central government ministers will continue to have a final backstop power to intervene in particularly significant cases.
The reforms would also expand the role of mayors in deciding how national housing and regeneration funding is allocated.
Homes England will continue to oversee the largest and most complex schemes, but the government's intention is for its financial resources and expertise to be increasingly aligned with priorities established by elected regional mayors.
Substantial funding is already being channelled through mayoral areas. Some £1.3 billion from the national land and infrastructure fund has been allocated to seven of England's most established mayoral regions. A further £234 million in brownfield funding has been earmarked for seven combined authorities, while £1.5 billion has been committed to devolution through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
The government also plans to extend another important financial tool beyond London. Mayors outside the capital will be able to introduce a development levy to help pay for major infrastructure projects linked to new growth.
The mechanism is based on a model used in London to help finance the Elizabeth line. The railway has expanded transport capacity across the capital while supporting new housing, commercial development and regeneration along its route. It has since become the busiest railway service in the UK.
Ministers argue that giving regional leaders greater control over planning, funding and infrastructure will help overcome fragmented decision-making and enable areas to plan housing and economic development on a larger scale.
The reforms represent a further step towards the government's wider devolution agenda, transferring more powers and financial responsibility from Westminster to elected mayors and combined authorities.
Supporters say stronger mayoral powers could speed up major developments and make it easier to coordinate housing with transport and infrastructure investment. Critics, however, are likely to scrutinise how the new powers affect local councils and communities, particularly where regional priorities conflict with neighbourhood-level objections.
The government maintains that the changes will strike a balance between local democratic control and the need to deliver housing and infrastructure at the scale required to support England's growing population and economy. Photo by Julius (User:Juliux), Wikimedia commons.
