Officer decision or committee decision?
A delegated decision is a decision made by an authorised officer rather than by councillors at a planning committee. Council application guidance explains the assessment and decision arrangements. Being decided by an officer does not remove consultation or the requirement for a planning assessment. [1][3]
Ask the case officer which decision route is expected and where the relevant procedure is published. Do not assume that an objection automatically triggers a meeting or that attending a committee is a normal stage of every home project.
Confirmed change from 31 October 2026
The national scheme requires Schedule 1 functions to be delegated. These include householder development and specified minor commercial and residential proposals. The minor residential definition includes qualifying proposals for one to nine dwellings on sites smaller than 0.5 hectares; it is not a blanket rule for every scheme with fewer than ten homes. [2]
Important exceptions and classifications apply. Own-interest applications involving the council, its members or officers have separate referral provisions. Retrospective applications, and certain applications connected with listed building consent, fall into Schedule 2 rather than the ordinary Schedule 1 route. [2]
Schedule 2 has a presumption of officer determination. Referral requires agreement between the nominated officer and member and the relevant gateway criteria. Existing automatic objection-count triggers and councillor call-in arrangements cannot override the national scheme. [2]
What to check for an autumn 2026 application
Ask for the route that will apply when the decision is made, not merely the rule quoted when the application was submitted. Check any revised council constitution, committee guidance and correspondence. The new scheme does not itself indicate whether the proposal should be approved or refused.
For your project file, record the expected decision route and the reason given. This is particularly useful where someone has promised that a certain number of objections will secure a committee hearing: ask the council to confirm the actual legal route instead.
If the application is scheduled for committee
Read the published officer report and any update material. Check the council's public-speaking arrangements, registration deadline and meeting information rather than assuming there is an unrestricted right to speak. Enfield's process explains its committee arrangements and directs applicants to the relevant meeting information. [3]
Prepare a short response to the main planning issues in the report. Keep design changes separate from speaking notes: a committee presentation is not a substitute for submitting revised plans through the proper application process. [1][3]