Planning rules change prompts council constitution update

A borough council has made changes to its own constitution to ensure planning applications continue to be handled fairly, openly and in line with new national rules taking effect this autumn.

At a meeting of Fylde Council, councillors agreed the updates to their constitution, paving the way for the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, which come into force on Saturday 31 October.

The new scheme means only certain kinds of planning applications will be able to be considered by the planning committee, with the rest having to be determined by officers.

To council has agreed that each week councillors will be sent a full list of relevant applications, giving them the chance to flag any that they believe should go before committee. While applications will still only be able to go to the committee if they meet government criteria, ward councillors will be able to make their case in person that an application should be decided by members.

Councillor Gavin Harrison, chairman of the planning committee, said: "We have tried to protect local democratic accountability, for example by building in the ability for ward councillors to call in applications.

“It’s a significant change and we will be keeping the new process under close review after 31 October."

The updated arrangements will apply from Saturday 31 October, and existing safeguards around openness, fairness and member conduct in planning matters remain firmly in place.