BLOGS

A new era for regional planning

The English Devolution Bill represents one of the most significant planning reforms in a generation. By empowering elected metro mayors with strategic planning authority comparable to the Mayor of London's powers, the government aims to accelerate housing delivery in England's largest city regions. The rationale is straightforward: a single strategic voice for planning decisions on major schemes should cut through fragmented local authority processes and unlock housing sites that have languished in planning limbo.

For developers, investors and lenders monitoring the UK residential market, this shift carries profound implications for where and how quickly new housing supply will emerge outside of London.

The evidence: mayoral areas already outperform

REalyse analysis of planning applications for large residential developments (schemes of 50 or more units) reveals a striking pattern: combined authority areas with established mayoral governance are already achieving faster decision times and higher approval rates than areas without metro mayors.

Greater Manchester, under mayoral leadership since 2017, processes large residential schemes in an average of 290 days with a 97% approval rate. The West Midlands Combined Authority achieves similar results: 292 days average decision time with 92.9% of major applications granted. These figures compare favourably to the national median of approximately 389 days for schemes of this scale.

By contrast, areas without strategic mayoral oversight show markedly longer timelines. Norfolk averages 476 days to decision. North Yorkshire takes 453 days. Hereford and Worcester sits at 447 days. The data suggests that strategic coordination at the mayoral level is already delivering measurable efficiency gains for housing development.

Central London, where the Mayor has long held strategic planning powers over referrable applications, leads with 333 days average decision time and a 95.4% approval rate—the model now being extended to regional mayors across England.

Pipeline implications for housing delivery

The scale of development affected by these new powers is substantial. REalyse data shows that Greater Manchester's planning pipeline alone contains over 64,000 residential units in large schemes, while the West Midlands holds nearly 68,000 units. West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Merseyside collectively account for a further 115,000 units in major applications.

If the efficiency gains demonstrated in existing mayoral areas can be replicated or improved upon as powers are formalised, the impact on housing delivery could be significant. The difference between a 290-day and a 450-day decision timeline translates directly into construction start dates, development finance costs and ultimately housing completions.

For build-to-rent operators and institutional investors, the reforms may also create more predictable development environments in target city regions. REalyse data indicates that BTR-designated schemes are heavily concentrated in mayoral combined authority areas, where strategic planning alignment could smooth the consenting process for purpose-built rental housing.

Implementation challenges ahead

Despite the promising headline figures, several implementation hurdles will determine whether the reforms achieve their housing delivery ambitions.

Resourcing disparities: London's strategic planning function is supported by a substantial team at the Greater London Authority. Replicating this capacity across multiple combined authorities will require significant investment. Planning departments outside London have faced years of budget constraints, and adding strategic oversight responsibilities without commensurate funding risks creating new bottlenecks rather than eliminating existing ones.

Local authority coordination: The relationship between mayoral strategic powers and constituent local planning authorities remains a potential friction point. While mayors will gain call-in powers for schemes of strategic importance, the vast majority of planning decisions will remain with local councils. Ensuring alignment between strategic housing targets and local plan-making will require careful governance design.

Political complexity: Unlike London, where the mayoral planning role has evolved over two decades, regional mayors are inheriting these powers into existing—and sometimes contested—political relationships with constituent councils. The success of strategic planning interventions may depend as much on political capital as technical planning capacity.

Definition of strategic significance: Which schemes trigger mayoral involvement will be critical. Set the threshold too low, and mayoral offices risk being overwhelmed. Too high, and the powers become largely ceremonial. The London model uses a combination of height, unit count and location criteria, but calibrating equivalent thresholds for diverse regional contexts will require careful consideration.

Outlook: a more streamlined development landscape?

The trajectory is clear: England is moving toward a more stratified planning system where elected mayors wield genuine influence over major housing development in their regions. For market participants, this creates both opportunities and considerations.

Developers pursuing large schemes in mayoral combined authority areas should expect clearer lines of strategic engagement and potentially faster consenting timelines—particularly for schemes aligned with regional housing and economic priorities. REalyse data on existing approval rates in mayoral areas (consistently above 90% for major residential) suggests a generally supportive policy environment for housing delivery.

However, the reforms also concentrate risk. Mayoral elections and shifting political priorities could introduce volatility that fragmented local authority decision-making, for all its inefficiencies, tended to diffuse. Understanding each mayor's housing agenda and strategic priorities will become increasingly important for development strategy.

The next 18 to 24 months will be decisive. As the English Devolution Bill progresses and implementation frameworks emerge, the market will gain clarity on how these powers translate into practical planning outcomes. For now, the data offers cautious optimism: mayoral governance appears to deliver faster, more predictable planning decisions for major housing schemes—precisely the outcomes the reforms are designed to achieve at scale.