Government extends deadline for councils to submit local plans under legacy system

The Government introduced an overhauled plan-making system in March this year, giving councils preparing plans under the legacy system until 31 December 2026 to submit them for examination.

But Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook has now announced that the deadline will be extended to 31 March 2027.

In a letter to all council leaders on Friday (23 October), Pennycook said the original deadline had been set to help achieve the Government's goal of universal plan coverage and ensure that local plans contribute to increasing housebuilding and infrastructure delivery.

He said: "I recognise that many local planning authorities have worked hard, and in good faith, to meet the 31 December 2026 deadline and are close to completing their Regulation 19 consultation. I thank them for their efforts to date.

"I also appreciate fully that many will still need to carry out a range of administrative and governance tasks prior to submission, and that some are at risk of missing that deadline by a fine margin, often for reasons beyond their control.

"Forcing local planning authorities that have done the right thing, but who are at risk of missing the 31 December 2026 deadline by small margins, to begin anew in the new plan-making system would not be fair and it runs counter to our shared aims of a plan-led approach to development and universal plan coverage.

"Having reflected on the matter, and in recognition of the genuine effort that many local planning authorities have made to meet the end of year deadline we imposed, I consider that there is a compelling case for a short extension to be given to those authorities who have not yet completed their Regulation 19 consultation but will have done so by 31 December 2026."

The letter added: “I direct that any local planning or minerals and waste development plan document being prepared in the legacy system which has concluded its final Regulation 19 consultation period by 31 December 2026 will be given a three-month extension. For these plans, the deadline for submission will now be 31 March 2027.

“This direction does not apply to any plans in relation to which I have already made a specific direction regarding the date of submission of a plan. In such cases an individual request will need to be made to me for consideration of an amendment to the current direction. However, the extension will not automatically apply to plans for which the minister has already issued a specific direction regarding their submission date.”

The letter also stressed that authorities should continue to progress their plans as quickly as possible, warning that no further extensions should be expected.

It said: "Irrespective of the direction set out above, authorities should make every effort to submit their plans as soon as possible. For areas who have already completed their Regulation 19 pre-submission consultation, progress to submission should be made as planned. There should be no expectation of further extensions beyond the end of March. This is the last opportunity for areas seeking to progress plans to submission in the legacy system."

The Local Government Association (LGA) welcomed the announcement.

Cllr Carl Cashman, chair of the LGA's Inclusive Growth Committee, said: "We are pleased government has listened to the LGA and will extend local plan deadlines for our members for reasons out of their control.

"This will help avoid wasting taxpayers’ money and hundreds of hours of work, or local plans being rushed at the eleventh hour."

Adam Carey