Stratford planning delegation is about to change substantially after Stratford-on-Avon District Council approved constitutional amendments on 12 October 2026. Announcing the decision on 21 October, the Council confirmed it would bring its arrangements into line with England’s new national scheme from 31 October 2026. Its own review suggests that 53 of approximately 64 cases heard by the Planning Committee in one earlier year would instead have been determined by planning officers.
That is approximately 83% of the cases in the Council’s historic committee sample, not 83% of every planning application received by the authority. It is nevertheless a striking indication of how different committee agendas could look once the new system is operating.
I think the most interesting finding concerns the decisions that members previously changed. During the period reviewed, councillors overturned ten officer recommendations. Nine involved applications recommended for refusal that were instead approved. Those figures deserve attention, but the published minutes do not identify which of those ten cases would have been in Schedule 1. We cannot assume that all, or any particular number, of those overturned decisions would have disappeared under the new rules.
What Stratford planning delegation reveals
Minutes of the Council’s Audit and Standards Committee meeting on 21 September 2026 record an analysis of applications considered between March 2025 and March 2026. About 64 were determined by the Planning Committee. Officers advised that 53 of those would have fallen into Schedule 1 of the new regulations, and therefore would not have been referred to committee under the incoming arrangements.
That leaves approximately eleven applications in the sample outside the stated Schedule 1 figure. It does not follow that all eleven would necessarily have been determined by members. Under the national rules, many Schedule 2 applications also remain with officers unless they pass the statutory referral test. The Council’s historic exercise is an indication of likely change, not a definitive prediction of future committee business.
The comparison also reflects an existing committee workload. It should not be used to estimate the overall percentage of Stratford’s applications decided under delegated powers, because most councils were already determining many applications through officers before the reform.
Schedule 1 and Schedule 2: the new decision routes
The new national scheme is established by the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, made under powers inserted into the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. The rules apply in England. They do not introduce the same committee arrangements in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Schedule 1 lists the kinds of application that normally must be decided by an officer. They include householder applications, minor commercial applications and defined minor residential schemes of one to nine homes on sites smaller than 0.5 hectares, together with various other consents and decisions. The precise statutory categories matter, including their exclusions and qualifications. It would be wrong to say that every proposal for nine homes or fewer must automatically be treated in exactly the same way.
Schedule 2 covers applications that may potentially reach committee. There is a presumption of officer determination, unless the nominated senior planning officer and nominated committee member agree that the application satisfies a statutory gateway relating to a significant planning matter or economic, social or environmental significance. Where they do not agree, the application is decided by officers.
There are special provisions for applications in which the council or its members or officers have an interest. Functions that do not appear in either schedule may remain subject to locally determined arrangements. Accordingly, Stratford planning delegation cannot be reduced to a blanket abolition of the Planning Committee.
Stratford approved the changes despite opposition
The Council’s 21 October announcement confirms that Full Council approved the constitutional amendments on Monday 12 October. Councillor George Cowcher, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development, made clear that the authority disagreed with the reforms but had to implement them to comply with national legislation.
The Council says planning, legal and governance teams are preparing training and guidance for councillors and officers, alongside information for town and parish councils and other stakeholders. At the September committee meeting, members were told that a parish forum and councillor training had been arranged, and that further explanatory material, including flow charts, was being developed.
This is a distinction worth preserving in coverage of the reform. Voting to change a constitution does not necessarily amount to political support for the national policy. In Stratford’s case, the Council expressly separated its objection to the policy from its duty to operate within the legal framework.
What happens to parish objections and call-ins?
Under the government’s statutory guidance, local constitutional arrangements that automatically send an application to committee because a ward councillor calls it in, or because a set number of objections is received, cannot continue in that form. Stratford’s planning application information likewise tells residents that ward councillors and town or parish councils will no longer be able to request committee consideration under the former arrangements.
That is not the same as saying objections are prohibited or that parish views have become irrelevant. Representations remain part of the planning process and may raise material considerations that officers must assess. However, objections by themselves do not provide a route around mandatory delegation or guarantee a committee hearing.
For parish councils and neighbours, Stratford planning delegation changes the question from who can call an application in to whether the representations identify a sound planning issue and, where Schedule 2 applies, whether the formal gateway for committee referral is met. Our earlier explanation of the planning committee call-in changes sets out that national shift in more detail.
Legal risks from 31 October
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government warns that, after commencement, a committee decision on an application that should have been determined by an officer may be challenged by judicial review and potentially quashed. It does not say every such decision is automatically void; the nature of the challenge and any remedy would be matters for the courts.
That warning explains why councils are urgently updating their constitutions. They need decision-making rules that match the legislation, properly nominated officers and members, and defensible records for any Schedule 2 referral. The legislation also limits planning committee size to 13 members, a separate operational consideration for authorities reviewing their structures.
Stratford planning delegation therefore has consequences beyond the length of an agenda. Errors about who had power to make a decision could create avoidable uncertainty for applicants, residents and authorities alike.
What applicants and residents should do now
The Stratford planning delegation figures are compelling, but applicants should first ask which statutory category their own proposal falls into. A householder application, a small housing scheme and a larger scheme may follow different decision routes. A planning statement still needs to address the development plan and material considerations. Delegation changes the decision-maker, not the substantive planning merits of the application.
For objectors, arguments about design, heritage, amenity, transport, housing need or other relevant planning effects should be made clearly within the consultation process, rather than relying on a familiar councillor call-in mechanism. For parish councils, it is sensible to check Stratford’s updated guidance and identify any specific Schedule 2 gateway issue rather than assuming objection numbers will lead to committee.
Officers will continue to make judgements that can be controversial, and committees will retain a role in eligible cases. The important point from Stratford planning delegation is that the boundary between those responsibilities will now be set substantially by national law rather than the authority’s previous discretionary referral rules.
Primary sources and further reading
The decision and local figures are recorded in the Council’s 21 October announcement and the 21 September Audit and Standards Committee minutes, item 230. The national legal framework is set out in the 2026 Regulations and the statutory government guidance.
For comparison, see our reporting on West Lancashire’s decision to comply despite opposition and Fenland’s rejection of constitutional changes. These are distinct local responses to the same England-wide reform.
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