Committee or officer: who decides small schemes in London?
Most small housing schemes in London are decided by a planning officer under delegated powers. A small number go to a planning committee of elected councillors. We looked at both.
How many go to committee
Where the council's data records who made the decision, 8,090 small schemes (one to nine homes, decided since January 2021) were decided by officers under delegated powers, and 339 went to committee. That is about one in twenty-five. A further 2,937 do not record the decision level, so we have left them out of this comparison.
The approval rates
- Delegated: 4,006 of 8,090 approved (50 per cent)
- Committee: 274 of 339 approved (81 per cent)
Committee approval rates look much higher, but we would not read that as "committees are easier". The schemes that reach committee are a particular group. A scheme often goes there because the officer recommends approval and a councillor or neighbours have objected, or because the council's rules send certain cases to committee whatever the recommendation. We do not have each officer's recommendation, so we cannot say how often committees overturn their officers, and we are not going to guess.
What it means for a landowner
For a plot owner the practical point is this: the great majority of small schemes are decided by an officer, and the officer's decision follows the council's policies and what has been approved nearby. The evidence you can put in front of that officer, and how closely the design follows precedent, matters most.
A scheme going to committee is not a bad sign in itself. It can mean there is local interest, or simply that a local rule applies. It does usually add time and a public meeting, which is worth allowing for.
If you want to see how decisions have gone on plots near yours, the page for your London postcode district shows the schemes decided there, and what was approved.
Figures: decided planning applications since 1 January 2021 where the applicant's form declared one to nine net new homes, from the councils' own registers; decision level as recorded by each council. Tower Hamlets, Newham, Wandsworth and Haringey are not yet in our data.
Own land somewhere in particular? The Land by postcode pages show recent sales, planning designations and the deciding council for each district.
More articles
How long does planning take in London for a small scheme?
The median small housing scheme in London takes 92 days to decide, from 57 days in Barking and Dagenham to 329 in Camden.
How many homes should you apply for on your London plot?
Across London, one home, two to three homes and four to nine homes are approved at similar rates, but a few boroughs behave very differently.
Which London boroughs approve small housing schemes
We ranked London's boroughs by how often they approved schemes of one to nine homes since 2021, from Merton at 71 per cent to Havering at 30.
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