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Committee vs Delegated Analysis

Understand which applications go to planning committee and which are decided under delegated powers. Real data patterns that help you prepare for the right determination route.

Stage 3 Decision Intelligence — powered by 376+ authorities
152,663
Total Records
141,872 determined
86.6%
Approval Rate
122,843 of 141,872 determined
19,029
Refusals
10,791
Other / Not Determined
withdrawn, advice, pending
75
Avg Days to Decision

Approval rate is calculated on the 141,872 determined applications (granted or refused). The remaining 10,791 are withdrawn, advice-only, or have no recorded grant/refusal outcome — so 122,843 + 19,029 + 10,791 = 152,663.

National Context: Committee vs Delegated

Detailed committee/delegated route data is not yet available for this authority. Nationally, the typical pattern is:

  • ~95% of applications are decided under delegated powers by planning officers
  • ~5% go to planning committee — typically major developments, controversial schemes, or councillor call-ins
  • Committee approval rates are generally lower than delegated (typically 70-80% vs 90%+)
  • Committee decisions take longer — often 10-13 weeks vs 8 weeks for delegated

Decision Outcomes by Application Type

Application Type Total Approved Refused Other Approval Rate
Full 50,095 41,013 6,593 2,489 86.2%
Trees 19,837 17,585 1,843 409 90.5%
Outline 15,570 12,599 2,200 771 85.1%
Conditions 11,568 10,221 924 423 91.7%
Amendment 7,188 5,837 979 372 85.6%
Heritage 5,125 4,386 350 389 92.6%
Full planning permission 3,899 2,647 907 345 74.5%
Householder planning permission 3,831 3,226 482 123 87%
3,796 3,144 303 349 91.2%
Approval of details reserved by a condition (discharge) 3,050 2,579 213 258 92.4%
Advertising 2,754 2,314 345 95 87%
Lawful development: Proposed use 2,104 1,655 286 163 85.3%
All Other 1,726 1,174 144 408 89.1%
Tree works: Trees in conservation areas/subject to TPOs 1,586 848 110 628 88.5%
Other 1,428 1,227 150 51 89.1%
Telecoms 1,292 858 136 298 86.3%
Non-material Amendment 814 670 86 58 88.6%
Prior Approval: Larger Home Extension 792 377 171 244 68.8%
Full Application 768 389 303 76 56.2%
Listed building consent 763 629 73 61 89.6%

Will Your Application Go to Committee?

Select the factors that apply to your application. Each factor increases the likelihood of a committee referral.

0%
Likely Delegated

Understanding Committee vs Delegated

What is Delegated Decision?

Under the Scheme of Delegation, planning officers are authorised to determine most applications without going to committee. This is the faster route — typically 8 weeks for minor/householder applications. Around 95% of applications nationally are decided this way.

What Triggers Committee?

  • Major applications (varies by LPA threshold)
  • Ward member call-in request
  • High volume of public objections
  • Departure from the development plan
  • Officer recommendation of refusal on major schemes
  • Council's own development (conflict of interest)

How to Prepare for Committee

  • Request to speak at committee (5 min usually allowed)
  • Prepare visual aids — site photos, CGIs, drawings
  • Brief supportive ward members in advance
  • Address all objection themes explicitly
  • Focus on material planning considerations
  • Keep presentations concise and policy-grounded

Committee vs Delegated: Impact on Outcome

Committee decisions are statistically more likely to refuse than delegated decisions. However, a committee recommendation for approval can carry greater weight in any subsequent appeal, as it demonstrates elected member support for the proposal.

📊 Data sources & freshness

Committee/delegated split is only as good as what councils publish. Low completeness LPAs are typically Idox installations where the route field is council-side admin only.

  • planning_applications.decision_route (updated Daily ingest)
    Live ingest from LPA portals. Where this column is empty, the route was not published — see the completeness badge at the top of the result.
  • Scheme of Delegation reference ↗
    For each LPA, refer to the published Scheme of Delegation to confirm which application types are reservable to committee. Use the FOI tool to request the latest scheme if not available online.

About this tool: Committee vs Delegated Analysis

Data-driven analysis of committee vs delegated decision patterns — approval rates by route, application type breakdown, yearly trends, and committee risk calculator.

When to use it

Use to understand how your LPA splits decisions between committee and delegated powers. Shows which application types are most likely to be called to committee and how outcomes differ.

Policy and guidance it draws on

Scheme of delegation, MHCLG planning statistics

Part of Authority Intelligence

Use these tools to understand how your Local Planning Authority behaves — what they approve, what they refuse, how often appeals succeed, and what strategy gives you the best chance. This is behavioural intelligence, not just policy research.

Related tools
Planning Risk Score™LPA ProfileNPPF TrackerCommittee PredictorHousing SupplyPre-App Strategy BuilderStrategy SimulatorCase Officer Intelligence

Guidance to help you prepare — not formal planning advice. Check the current policy text and your council's local plan before relying on it.

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