HOW the new government guidelines on the planning system will affect decisions made in Cornwall has now been confirmed.

In a presentation sent to town and parish councils, Cornwall Council has confirmed that as a result of these changes, local councillors will no longer be able to ‘call in’ contentious planning applications as they do presently.

All of the changes will be implemented on October 31, 2026.

In the current system, where an individual Cornwall Council member has concerns over an application, it can be ‘called in’ for the final decision to be made by a committee of elected councillors.

However, as part of the government’s efforts to reform and speed up the planning process, individual members will be stripped of this power, with some decisions automatically taken under delegated power by planning officers with no recourse.

In the presentation, town and parish councillors were told that as a result of the government’s plan to deliver 1.5-million homes this Parliament, Cornwall’s annual housing target had been increased by 68 per cent to 4,400.

It is a figure that dwarfs Cornwall’s historical housing delivery which has usually been approximately 2,600 to 2,700 homes a year.

As part of the government’s bid to boost housing delivery, it is setting higher targets, reforms to the planning system and ‘increased investment’.

The briefing from Cornwall Council to parish and town councillors says that: “National ambitions rely on decisions being made locally and planning committees are one of the most visible parts of the system.”

The main onus of the proposals is to introduce a ‘national scheme of delegation’ that the document says aims to allow faster decisions, clearer roles and more consistent outcomes to planning applications.

It will also see the maximum numbers of councillors that can sit on a Cornwall Council planning committee capped at 13 members, although at present, the council has 11 members on each of its four planning committees – comprising East area, Central area, West area and the strategic planning committee.

In the new National Scheme of Delegation, which will replace the present system, there are two schedules – or types – of decisions.

Schedule one decisions are ones that will have no input from councillors into the decision for they will be decided by officers only.

Schedule two decisions are classified as ‘usually officer decisions’, with applications only being referred to a committee of councillors if it passes a ‘gateway test’. The only exceptions to the gateway are ‘own interest’ applications where the applicant is Cornwall Council, member or officer owned or controlled entities.

In the schedule one (always delegated) applications, nearly all small-scale applications will be automatically decided by planning officers.

These include householder applications, minor residential developments (of one to nine homes in size on small sites that are less than 0.5 hectares), minor commercial developments, permission in principle (which establishes the principle of building on a plot of land), discharge of planning conditions, non-material amendments, certificate of lawful development or reserved matters (unless it is outline over 500 dwellings or 50,000 square metres of floor space).

The guidance stipulates that even if there are public interest or objections, schedule one applications are not allowed to go to a planning committee.

Councillors are likely to be shut out of the majority of schedule two applications unless it is considered an exceptional circumstance.

Schedule two applications comprise of major planning applications, reserved matters which relate to large outline applications, listed building consent and related planning applications, tree preservation order consents, advertisement consents, applications not listed in schedule one and own interest applications.

However, these decisions are delegated by default, meaning that even applications for large housing developments are likely to be decided by planning officers rather than council committees.

This is because the guidance specifically states: “These applications are delegated by default, and committee involvement is exceptional not automatic”.

The criteria for a schedule two application being referred to committee is strict.

It can only be referred if it raises one or more issues of economic, social or environmental significance or it raises one or more significant planning matters having regard to the development plan and any other material planning consideration.

It can also only be referred if it is agreed by both the Chief Planning Officer and the Committee chair.

Figures supplied by Cornwall Council have also given an indication of how the new rules would have impacted applications that were put before a planning committee between April 8, 2025 until April 8, 2026.

Of the 76 applications referred to the committees, approximately 46 per cent of them would fall under schedule one – meaning that the sole decision rests with the Cornwall Council planning officer.

Cornwall Council told parish and town councils: “The new regulations come into force on October 31.

“As these are national requirements, we need to update the council’s constitution accordingly. Importantly, this does not change how we consult parish and town councils on planning applications. We will continue to encourage early discussion between officers, clerks and local councils.

“We have heard clearly that the current five day notice process is valued and our proposed protocols retain a similar review mechanism involving local members and planning leadership.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

The documents also confirmed the future of neighbourhood development plans in place across many parts of Cornwall – with the new proposals meaning they’ll gradually get overtaken by national policies and the new Cornwall Council local plan.