Councils across England are mounting a united challenge to the Government’s proposed planning reforms, warning they will strip away local decision-making powers and damage trust in the system.
Leaders from urban and rural authorities say the changes – including a two-tier system and tougher housing targets – are unnecessary, unrealistic, and harmful.
The growing backlash spans the political spectrum, with critics accusing ministers of centralising control while ignoring local realities.
Local democracy ‘under threat’
Vale of White Horse District Council has slammed proposals to introduce a “two-tier” planning system, where smaller developments would be decided solely by officers without the option for councillors to call them in.
Council leader Bethia Thomas warned the move would make the process “less transparent” and undermine “a vital principle of local democracy”.
Chair of Planning Max Thompson called it “a solution in search of a problem”, noting that over 95% of applications are already decided without committee involvement.
The council unanimously passed a motion opposing the reforms, urging the Government to retain call-in powers for controversial planning permission applications.
Bolton Council slams ‘monstrous’ centralisation
In Bolton, councillors from different parties voiced anger at proposals to fast-track smaller housing and commercial applications, bypassing committees altogether.
Cllr John Walsh said he was “horrified” by the idea of shrinking planning committees to as few as eight members, warning minority parties could be excluded.
Council leader Nick Peel agreed, accusing the Government of “centralising on one issue while decentralising on another” and calling the reforms a “distraction” from more pressing housing challenges.
Bolton will send its objections to local MPs, emphasising that planning committees are essential for scrutiny and for ensuring communities’ voices are heard.
Rural councils warn of ‘irreparable harm’
In the Cotswolds, council leader Mike Evemy has written to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over housing targets that more than double the district’s previous plans, from 420 to 1,036 homes a year.
With 80% of the area inside an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, he said much of the land is “an absolute non-starter for development”.
Other councils, including Bath, Arun, and East Hampshire, have voiced similar objections, saying the policy ignores local constraints such as national parks, conservation areas, and developer designated areas.
Arun’s leader Martin Lury called the targets “fanciful presumptions” that set councils up to fail, while West Lancashire’s Labour leader Yvonne Gagen said opposition spans “Labour, Liberal Democrats, and Conservatives alike”.
Government defends reforms
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government insists the changes are essential to meeting the housing targets of 370,000 houses a year, arguing the revised housing targets reflect local needs and will be paired with new infrastructure.
A spokesperson said the reforms are designed to “fix the housing crisis” and “deliver homes in the right places, alongside the necessary infrastructure, and not at the expense of the environment”.
However, with councils from across the political divide pushing back, ministers now face a growing wave of local government resistance to the overhaul.
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