Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook has given councils an extra three months to submit local plans that are at an advanced stage under England's legacy plan-making system.
In a letter to all council leaders on 23 October, the Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich confirmed that any local plan, or minerals and waste plan, which has concluded its final Regulation 19 consultation by 31 December 2026 can now be submitted for examination by 31 March 2027. The previous deadline for submissions under the legacy regulations was 31 December 2026.
Matthew Pennycook: 'Would not be fair'
Matthew Pennycook said the clear deadline had "driven a significant acceleration in plan progress, with 56 plans reaching pre-submission consultation so far this year".
But he acknowledged that many authorities still had administrative and governance tasks to complete before submission and were at risk of missing the 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," he wrote.
'No expectation of further extensions'
The extension does not apply where ministers have already issued a specific direction on a plan's submission date; those councils must make an individual request. Authorities using the extra time must send an updated Local Development Scheme setting out their revised submission date by the end of November.
The minister urged councils to submit as soon as possible and warned that there should be "no expectation of further extensions beyond the end of March", describing it as the last opportunity to progress plans in the legacy system as the Government drives towards universal local plan coverage and higher rates of housebuilding.
