Brighton and Hove Councillors Lose Power to Call In Planning Applications From 31 October

From Saturday 31 October 2026, Brighton and Hove’s councillors will no longer be able to call planning applications in to committee, and most decisions will be made by council officers. The change comes from national regulations, and Brighton & Hove City Council says it has no choice but to follow them. Full Council approved the matching changes to its constitution on 1 October, according to the council’s own report to that meeting.

When. The new rules start on Saturday 31 October 2026.

What goes. The right of ward councillors to ask for an application to be heard by the Planning Committee, and the automatic referral when enough objections are received.

Last meeting before the change. Planning Committee, Wednesday 28 October 2026, 1pm, Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall.

Cancelled. The Planning Committee meeting planned for Wednesday 4 November.

Next meeting listed. Wednesday 2 December 2026, 2pm.

What changes on 31 October

The council’s report says the new rules come from the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026. They set a national scheme of delegation, with the presumption that planning decisions go to officers and only exceptionally to a planning committee. The report calls it “a major change” to how the council works.

Under the new scheme, ward councillors can no longer ask for an application to be called in. The same right is removed from the Conservation Advisory Group and the Disabled Access Advisory Group. The trigger that sent an application to committee once a certain number of objections had been received has also gone.

Minor planning applications and prior approvals must be decided by officers in every case. The council says most of these do not go to committee now anyway.

Which applications can still reach committee

Major applications, listed building consents, advertisement consents and tree preservation order consents are presumed to be decided by officers. They can go to the Planning Committee only if the application meets a “gateway test”. That means it raises a significant planning matter, or an economic, social or environmental issue of significance to the local area.

Meeting the test is not enough on its own. The nominated officer, who is the Head of Planning, and the nominated member, who is the chair of the Planning Committee, must both agree to the referral. If they do not agree, officers decide. The council’s report says neither of them may be lobbied on whether an application is referred.

The council’s scheme also lists applications for planning permission or listed building consent that relate to the Royal Pavilion or Brighton Dome among those that can be considered for referral. Applications made by the council itself, a councillor or an officer can go to committee if the same two people agree.

The council says no outside consultation took place because the changes are compulsory and the regulations leave no local discretion. It says there are no direct financial implications, though extra planning staff time may be needed to run the gateway test.

What opposition councillors say

The changes were criticised across the chamber, according to Brighton and Hove News on 4 October. It reported that Labour councillors voted the changes through, and that Alison Thomson, who chairs the Planning Committee, said the council had to follow the national rules. Green councillor Sue Shanks called them “a great affront to local democracy”, and Conservative councillor Carol Theobald, a former committee chair, called the policy undemocratic.

The last meeting under the old rules, 28 October

The agenda for 28 October lists ten applications for a decision, plus planning appeals and an update on the King Alfred planning application. We covered the scheme itself in New £65m King Alfred Leisure Centre Wins Planning Backing in Hove.

Oakley House, Leicester Street, Brighton. A council development of up to five storeys with 20 flats on the old Wood Store site, listed as a major application. The report recommends the committee grant permission, and 15 objections have been received.

36 Cheltenham Place, Brighton. Full planning application.

Palmer and Harvey House, 106 to 112 Davigdor Road, Hove. Application to remove or vary a condition.

113 to 118 Davigdor Road, Hove. Full planning application.

16 Lewes Road, Brighton. Full planning application.

3 and 4A College Place, Brighton. Full planning application.

186 to 188 Portland Road, Hove. Full planning application.

Flat 2, 35 Highcroft Villas, Brighton. Full planning application.

46 North Gardens, Brighton. Householder planning application.

6 Whitethorn Drive, Brighton. Application to remove or vary a condition.

What residents can still do

You can still comment on applications through the council’s planning register. For applications that do reach the Planning Committee, the public can still register to speak. The deadline is 12 noon, four working days before the meeting, by emailing democratic.services@brighton-hove.gov.uk. Objectors, applicants and ward councillors get three minutes each. Meeting dates and papers are on the council’s Planning Committee page.

Sources. Brighton & Hove City Council report to Full Council, 1 October 2026; Planning Committee agenda for 28 October 2026 and meetings calendar; Brighton and Hove News, 4 October 2026.