Statutory Consultee Shake-Up Proposals

❓ Do Statutory Consultees cause havoc with your planning applications?

❓ Are you a housebuilder who wants the whole process to be quicker and more simple?

✅ Luckily, there’s a consultation for that!

Reducing the number of Statutory Consultees, along with other live proposals, could help speed up planning applications across England

England's planning laws currently include 10 Statutory Consultees. Depending on what you're proposing to build, and where you're proposing to build it, these bodies have a legal obligation to review your proposals and comment on them.

The chosen 10 are:

🌳 Environment Agency

🦊 Natural England

🏛️ Historic England

🚘 National Highways

🏥 Health & Safety Executive

🏭 Mining Remediation Authority

🚊 Active Travel England

🤾 Sport England ❌ 

🌷 Gardens Trust ❌

🎭 Theatres Trust ❌

This consultation, which is open for feedback until 13th January 2026, is suggesting the last three ( ❌ ) are removed from the mandatory list.

It’s also asking if any others should be taken off, and if anything else can be done to streamline the whole process.

Government stats suggest 38% of Environment Agency referrals and 30% of Natural England referrals are unnecessary... that's a lot of pointless admin clogging up the system!

If this shake-up is music to your ears 🎵, here's the link to MHCLG... have a read:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforms-to-the-statutory-consultee-system/reforms-to-the-statutory-consultee-system

This is one of several proposals announced recently that form a bigger piece, aiming to speed up planning and keep our construction teams busy.