Councils in England get three more months to submit local plans under the old rules

Councils in England that are close to finishing a local plan under the current rules have been given until 31 March 2027 to submit it for examination, three months later than the previous cut-off of 31 December 2026.

The change was set out in a letter from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning to all council leaders on Friday. It applies to local plans, and to minerals and waste plans, whose final public consultation, known as the Regulation 19 stage, has closed by 31 December 2026.

What a local plan does

A local plan is the council's main planning document. It sets out how many homes and how much employment land an area needs, where they should go, which sites are protected and what infrastructure should come with new development. Planning applications are then judged against it, so an up-to-date plan gives residents, landowners and builders a clearer idea of what is likely to be approved.

Before a plan can be adopted, it goes through rounds of public consultation and is then examined by an independent planning inspector. The Regulation 19 consultation is the last stage before submission, when the council publishes the version it intends to put forward and invites formal comments.

Why the deadline matters

England is moving to a new plan-making system under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. Plans that miss the legacy deadline would have to start again under the new process. The letter says the fixed date has sped up progress, with 56 plans reaching pre-submission consultation so far this year.

The minister wrote that many authorities had worked in good faith to hit the December date but still had administrative and governance steps to complete, and some risked missing it narrowly for reasons outside their control. Making them start afresh, the letter said, would be unfair and would work against the goal of having a plan in place everywhere.

What happens next

The extension is made by formal direction under the transitional regulations for the 2023 Act. It does not apply where the government has already issued a specific direction to a council about its submission date. Those councils must make an individual request.

Councils that will now submit after 31 December must send an updated timetable, called a Local Development Scheme, to the ministry by the end of November. Authorities that have already finished their Regulation 19 consultation are expected to carry on as planned.

The letter states that there should be no expectation of any further extension beyond the end of March, describing it as the last chance to submit under the legacy system. For people following a plan in their own area, the council's website will usually show its Local Development Scheme and the current stage of consultation.