Stratford Planning Applications to Be Decided by Officers, Not Committee, From 31 October

Stratford-on-Avon District Council has approved new national rules: from 31 October most planning applications will be decided by officers, and far fewer will go to the Planning Committee.

By Alex Harrington 2 min read Source: Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Elizabeth House on Church Street, the offices of Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Elizabeth House, Stratford-on-Avon District Council's offices on Church Street. Photo: Jaggery, CC BY-SA 2.0

From Saturday 31 October, most Stratford planning applications, in the town and across Stratford-on-Avon District, will be decided by council planning officers instead of the Planning Committee. Councillors approved the change to the council’s constitution at Full Council on Monday 12 October, by 34 votes to 2 in a recorded vote, to bring it in line with new national rules.

On this page
  1. What changes for Stratford planning applications
  2. What councillors said
  3. What it means for residents

What changes for Stratford planning applications

The government’s Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026 set a national scheme of delegation, which takes effect on 31 October. Every application falls into one of two groups:

  • Schedule 1 applications are decided by officers. They can’t go to the Planning Committee.
  • Schedule 2 applications can still go to the committee, but only if they pass a “Gateway Test” and the chair of the Planning Committee and the council’s Head of Development agree.

Until now, a ward councillor or a parish council objection could send an application to the committee. The council’s own analysis shows how big the shift is: of about 64 applications the committee decided between March 2025 and March 2026, 53 would have been Schedule 1 under the new rules, so would never have reached it. In the same year the committee went against its officers’ advice ten times, and in nine of those it approved applications that officers had recommended refusing.

What councillors said

Councillors across the chamber criticised the new rules in the debate, and several voted for them “reluctantly”. Cllr Alcock, who chairs the Audit and Standards Committee, said the council had no real choice because the change is required by law. Council Leader Cllr Susan Juned said that without it the council risked being unable to decide applications lawfully after 31 October, which could lead to appeals for non-determination and costs. Cllr Shenton asked for the Gateway decisions and the reasons for them to be published. The council’s monitoring officer said officer decisions are recorded in published decision notices, and that residents will be told about the changes, with training for parish and town councils. You can watch the debate on the council’s recording (the vote is at 2:31).

What it means for residents

You can still comment on any planning application on the council’s planning website, and officers must take comments into account. What changes is that far fewer applications will be debated in public, where parish councils, objectors and applicants can speak. If you care about an application near you, comment in writing within the consultation period rather than waiting for a committee meeting.

The Planning Committee on Wednesday 21 October is one of the last under the old rules: see what’s on its agenda. To see new applications near you each week, use our Planning near me map, and follow all our planning news.

Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.

Back to top button