From 31 October 2026, councils in England must let planning officers, not a planning committee, decide householder applications such as extensions. The government says homeowners should get answers sooner. For builders, that means getting ready now for the quote calls that follow an approval: be easy to find, answer the phone, chase every quote.
Key takeaways
- Under the new National Scheme of Delegation, householder applications are on the list that must be delegated to officers.
- The government's announcement says householder applications make up nearly 70% of planning applications each year.
- The rules change who decides, not what is allowed. Planning policies, consultation and neighbours' right to comment stay as they were.
- Nobody can promise the change brings you more enquiries. What you control is whether the homeowner with a fresh approval finds you, gets through to you and hears back from you.
What changed on 31 October?
Until now, each council set its own rules for which planning applications went to a committee of councillors and which were decided by officers. A councillor could often "call in" a small application, and it would wait for the next committee slot.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced on 30 October that from 31 October, straightforward applications are decided by expert planning officers "rather than waiting for a planning committee slot". It names homeowners "looking to extend or convert their loft" as the people it's meant to help.
The government's guidance to councils sets out the detail. Its Schedule 1 lists the applications that must be delegated to officers. Householder development is on it, alongside minor residential schemes of one to nine homes on a site smaller than 0.5 hectares, and the discharge of conditions. Larger schemes sit in Schedule 2: officers decide those too, unless the council's nominated officer and the committee chair agree one should go to committee and it passes a test of local significance.
Does it change what a homeowner is allowed to build?
No. Stevenage Borough Council's explainer puts it plainly: the scheme changes who makes the decision, not the planning policies used to assess an application. It says applications are still publicised, residents can still comment, and officers still assess every application against the local plan.
So a rear extension that would have been refused last month will still be refused. What should go is the wait for a committee date on the ones that would have been approved.
| Before 31 October 2026 | From 31 October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides a householder application | Officers or committee, by each council's own rules | Planning officers, set by national rules |
| Can a councillor send it to committee | Often, through a local call-in | Not for householder applications, except where the council or one of its officers or members has an interest |
| Planning policy used to judge it | The local plan and national policy | Unchanged |
| Neighbours and consultees can comment | Yes | Yes, unchanged |
| Where it applies | Each council's own arrangements | Every council in England |
Will decisions come back faster where you work?
The government expects so, and it's also testing new planning software that pulls an application, local policies and site constraints into one place for the officer. Its announcement says early testing cut the time spent on key planning tasks by 58%, which it says helps halve processing for routine householder applications from eight weeks to four. That's the government's figure from testing, not a promise for every council.
The software is now being tested in 15 councils for 12 months. Two of them are in the North West: Rochdale and Cumberland. The others include Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol, Stoke-on-Trent and five London boroughs. The government says it intends to offer it to every council in England by the end of 2027. The announcement also reports 420 new planners recruited through government-backed schemes.
If you build in one of those areas, you may see the change first. Everywhere else in England, the delegation rules apply from 31 October regardless.
Approvals sooner means quote calls sooner
A homeowner with planning permission in hand has made the biggest decision already. Their next step is getting builders round to quote. If approvals come back sooner, those quote calls come sooner too, and in areas with a backlog they may come in a bunch.
That's good news only if you're set up for it. The homeowner who just got approval searches, compares a few firms, and rings. The firm that answers, turns up when it said it would and follows up on its quote has the best chance. When our caller rang 238 UK local businesses between 21 Sep and 30 Sep 2026, 216 (91%) did not pick up on the latest call: 119 rang out and 97 went to voicemail. Most of the calls we couldn't get through on simply rang out, with no voicemail to take a message.
A builder on a site with a mixer running misses calls. That's normal. What costs you is the missed call nobody returns. Our missed call calculator works out your own figure from the calls you miss in a week and what a typical job is worth to you.
What should a builder do this week?
- Look at your council's planning register. Councils publish applications online, and Stevenage says it publishes decision notices there too. Searching your area for householder decisions tells you what's being approved near you and roughly when.
- Name the jobs on your website and Google profile. "Extensions", "loft conversions" and "garage conversions" as their own services, with the towns you cover and photos of finished jobs. A homeowner searches for the job they've just got permission for, not for "builder".
- Put a tap-to-call number on every page. A homeowner reading their decision email on a phone can ring you in one tap.
- Decide who picks up when you can't. A partner, an office, a call answering service, or at the very least a text back to every missed call within minutes.
- Chase every quote you send. An extension quote is a big decision and homeowners take their time. A polite check-in a few days later is part of the job. We looked at how many follow-ups are worth sending in how many times should you follow up an enquiry.
- Ask every finished customer for a Google review. The homeowner comparing builders reads them.
Roofers face the same homeowner checks before a big job, and we set out what they look for in what homeowners check before calling a roofer. Most of it carries over to extensions.
Where we can help
For builders and extension firms, pay per booking covers every step on that list. We set up your Google ads and your Google Business Profile, build a page for the jobs you want, answer the calls you miss, chase every quote and send review requests. You fund the ads direct with Google at a daily budget we agree. Before we start, we agree in writing how many booked quote visits we'll get you in 30 days. Until we reach it, you pay us nothing. Once we do, you pay a fixed fee for each booked visit, agreed in writing before we start. Ad spend goes to Google and we never refund it. The full workings are in what pay per booking costs, and the other trades are on our home improvement page.
If you only want the phone covered, Call answering picks up the calls you miss, takes the caller's details and books the visit: £299 setup, then £149 to £399 a month.
If you'd rather start with a website, we build one around your extensions and the towns you cover. It's built free with Starter at £39 a month, starting the month it goes live, with the Busier Guarantee behind it: if you're not busier after three months, you get every penny back, measured on your own Google numbers. Every other price is on our pricing page.
How do you check your own site first?
Run the free scan on your current site. It runs 48 checks and lists the fixes in priority order, including whether your phone number is a tap-to-call link, whether your reviews are shown and whether your opening hours can be found. Then search "extension builder" and your town on your phone, and see where you come up.
Sources
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Faster planning decisions, news story, 30 Oct 2026, read 3 Nov 2026.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Planning Committees and the National Scheme of Delegation of Planning Functions: guidance for local planning authorities in England, read 3 Nov 2026.
- Stevenage Borough Council, National Scheme of Delegation, read 3 Nov 2026.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Common questions
Do householder planning applications still go to committee?
Not in England from 31 October 2026. Householder applications are in Schedule 1 of the national scheme, so officers must decide them. The exception is an own-interest application, where the council or one of its members or officers has an interest; that can go to committee if the council's nominated officer and the committee chair agree.
Does the new scheme make an extension easier to get approved?
No. It changes who decides, not the rules. Officers still judge the application against the local plan and national policy, and neighbours can still comment.
How long does a householder planning decision take now?
It depends on the council. The government says early testing of its new planning software cut time on key tasks by 58%, which it says helps halve processing for routine householder applications from eight weeks to four. The software is being tested in 15 councils, including Rochdale and Cumberland.
Does this apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
No. The National Scheme of Delegation and its guidance are for local planning authorities in England.
What does pay per booking cost a builder?
You pay us nothing until we reach the number of booked quote visits we agree in writing, in 30 days. After that, a fixed fee for each booked visit, agreed in writing before we start. You fund your ads direct with Google, and we never refund ad spend. A website on its own is built free with Starter at £39 a month. Every price is on our pricing page.
What your missed calls cost you.
£780 a month
£180 a week, £9,360 a year, going to whoever answers first.
As an example from these numbers, £631 a month is left over after the receptionist’s £149 starting price. Illustrative only, not a promise of earnings.
These are example numbers. Change them to your own. Worked out as 5 missed calls a week, times £120, times the 30% who would have booked, then over a month (52 weeks divided by 12).
A receptionist that answers every call in seconds, day or night, is £149 to £399 a month. It has to pay for itself in the first month, or you get every penny back, setup included.
Hear it answer as your businessBoth calculators, calls and messages, on one page: the missed call cost calculator.
Want more booked jobs?
We get high-ticket home improvement firms and private clinics more booked jobs, and we’re only paid when the bookings come in. We set up your Google ads and profile, answer the calls you miss, chase every quote and bring in the reviews. You fund the ads direct with Google. Not sure where your site stands? Run the free scan first: 48 checks, no charge.
9 things that decide whether your phone rings.
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