Mayors to get powers to overrule local councils on planning decisions

Image source, PA MediaByKate Whannelpolitical reporter Published23 August 2026, 04:10 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoMayors across England will be given new powers to overrule local councils on some planning decisions.

The change would apply to proposals with more than 150 homes, more than 15,000 square metres of commercial space or buildings over 30 metres.

Mayors in 13 areas including Manchester, Liverpool, the West of England and the West Midlands will gain similar powers to Sir Sadiq Khan in London, who is already able to "call in" planning decisions.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the powers were an "essential part of the toolkit that mayors need to effectively deliver new homes and regeneration".

The Conservatives questioned whether it was right for councils to lose the "ability to make planning decisions in their own communities".

The powers will also be available to mayors in the Combined Authorities in North East England, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, Greater Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, East Midlands, and Tees Valley.

Paul Bristow, the Conservative mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, told BBC Breakfast that if he had local powers, he would approve "tomorrow" a couple of blocked schemes that he said would "get new homes built that families could move into and charge economic growth".

Bristow said "it's not about overriding what local people want", but about developers and councils finding a compromise on projects instead of just saying no - which he believed the "perceived threat of intervention" would help.

In London, where Khan already has the power to review decisions on certain developments, external, housebuilding has fallen in recent years. But Pennycook insisted the "call in" powers had helped the mayor "unblock strategic growth sites" in the capital.

Bristow said if he had a similar local plan it would be "much more light touch" than London.

In the 2024 general election, the Labour government promised to build 1.5 million homes in England by the end of the decade, but housebuilders have warned the target could be missed.

Pennycook said the government was "absolutely determined to stick with that ambition".