CIEEM Response: Planning powers for mayors in England

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) launched a consultation on implementation of planning powers for mayors of strategic authorities in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026. Essentially, these proposals would grant mayors of strategic authorities in England (i.e. combined authorities and combined county authorities) similar powers to the Mayor of London with regards to planning policy.

The consultation seeks views on:

  • mayoral powers regarding planning applications of potential strategic importance (PSI), principally for mayors outside London but includes further changes to the approach in London;
  • Mayoral Development Orders (MDOs);
  • Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (MCIL) for mayors outside London.

Separately, there are also proposed changes to the secondary legislation for Local Development Orders (LDOs).

Via the English Devolution Act and the Planning and Infrastructure Act (2025), mayors of Strategic Authorities are being given similar powers to those held by the Mayor of London, with a view to these powers being in place in early 2027:

  • A duty to produce a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) – high-level spatial frameworks identifying broad locations “for growth” and the necessary infrastructure to support this. Under the Planning and Infrastructure Act, all Strategic Authorities are required to publish a SDS which sets out the vision for development across their area.
  • Powers in relation to PSI applications: the English Devolution Act gives mayors of Strategic Authorities outside of London the ability to call-in (and become the local planning authority) for PSI applications or direct the local planning authority to refuse PSI applications when these applications are submitted to local planning authorities.
  • Power to grant proactive planning permission through Mayoral Development Orders (MDOs): the English Devolution Act gives all mayors of Strategic Authorities the ability to prepare MDOs and streamline the process for their creation. An MDO is a tool which can be used by a mayor to grant planning permission for a particular development instead of relying on an application to be submitted.
  • Power to raise funds for infrastructure through a MCIL: the English Devolution Act gives mayors of Strategic Authorities outside of London the ability to set and charge MCIL, which is a levy on development which will help fund vital strategic infrastructure to support new development and drive economic growth in their areas.

CIEEM’s response focused on the need to ensure environmental concerns are given sufficient weighting and guidance in any new system. Specifically, we are once again calling for “sustainable development” to be the central focus on planning policy, rather than a narrower definition of “future growth”.