National Scheme of Delegation
What is the National Scheme of Delegation and what does it mean for future planning applications?
The new rules are due to come into effect on 31st October 2026 and put development into two categories
Schedule 1
Applications can no longer be taken to Planning Committee
- Minor applications
- Minor residential applications
- Minor commercial applications
- Certificates of lawfulness
- Permission in principle
- Reserved matters
- Non-material changes
- Variation of conditions (if original application was Schedule 1)
- Submission of BNG plan
- Applications to discharge a planning condition
- Prior approval applications
Schedule 2
Applications can go to Planning Committee only if the raise a significant local or planning issue
- Listed building consents
- Large outline permissions
- Major applications
- Variation or discharge of conditions for listed building consent
- Retrospective planning permission
- Reserved matters for developments of 500+ homes
- Consent under a tree preservation order
What does this mean for you?
In short - it will significantly reduce the number of decisions going to Planning Committee.
Your local ward member will no longer be able to ‘call in’ an application to Planning Committee.
Applications will no longer be able to be sent to Planning Committee if a certain number of objections have been raised.
All applications in Schedule 1 can proceed with the certainty that they will not suffer additional delays and uncertainty from the being called into Planning Committee
More decisions will be made inline with planning policy and not local politics
Written by Ben Oliver, Chartered Surveyor