Decision

To approve changes to Part 3B, Part 3D(3) and Protocol 4 of the Wiltshire Council Constitution, following approval of The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026.

Reasons for the decision

Following approval of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and the subsequent The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, the government has introduced and published a National Scheme of Delegation of Planning Functions.

Local planning authorities are required to comply with the scheme and must have regard to official guidance in operating or making arrangements under the Regulations. Those changes must be in place by 31 October 2026.

Among other changes the Regulations curtail the types of applications which are capable of being determined by Members, with Schedule 1 applications required to be determined by officers in all cases, and Schedule 2 applications that may be determined by a planning committee, if required provisions are met.

Call-in of planning applications by local members is explicitly removed. The Regulations instead introduce a ‘Gateway Test’ for a nominated member (recommended to be the chair of a planning committee) and a nominated officer (recommended to be a chief planning officer or equivalent) to both agree a schedule 2 application may be determined by a committee, where it raises one or more issues of economic, social, or environment significance to the local area, or raises one or more significant planning matters having regard to the development plan and any other material considerations.

The Constitution Focus Group prepared proposed wording to comply with the law, and also to update internal procedures, at meetings on 15 and 21 September 2026. Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee also provided comment at its meeting on 23 September 2026. The Standards Committee considered the changes at its meeting on 29 September 2026 and recommended their adoption by Full Council.

Full Council considered the proposed changes at its meeting on 20 October 2026. Following an extended debate in which Members expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s changes to the planning system, Full Council did not approve the proposals.

During the above debate it was made clear that the council was required to adhere to the new legal situation and amend its Constitution accordingly. Members accepted in debate that if they chose to reject the proposals in protest of government policy, changes to comply with the law would still be made by the Monitoring Officer under delegated authority.

Also during the debate it was clarified whether, in rejecting the proposals, the changes would nonetheless be adopted in full as presented to the meeting. This was confirmed as possible by the Monitoring Officer.

Under Part 2 of the Constitution the Monitoring Officer has delegated authority to amend the Constitution to reflect changes in the law. Some elements of the changes presented to the meeting were technically discretionary, as these related to internal procedures arising from the legal changes, rather than being requirements. Accordingly, and for avoidance of doubt, this decision to adopt the changes in full has been taken alongside the Chief Executive, who has emergency powers to take all necessary decisions to ensure that the interests of the Council are not compromised.

This was considered appropriate given the expressed intention during the meeting that voting against the motion would not prevent the entirety of the proposed changes from being adopted, and recognising the significant harm to the council’s interests if its Constitution and planning arrangements were not updated, in that it would place the council at significant risk of legal challenge.

As such, the changes to Part 3B, 3D(3), and Protocol 4, as presented to the meeting of 20 October 2026, will be adopted in full.

See the attached document for considerations in line with Wiltshire Council’s Constitution.

Alternative options considered

The Council could adopt, under delegated authority, only those Constitutional changes which directly relate to the changed required by the Regulations, eg specifying which categories of application may not be determined by planning committee.

This was rejected, as additional wording had been included to ensure preservation of the role of local Members inasmuch as possible, as well as other technically discretionary changes to make application of the new legal requirements appropriate and efficient.