Planning applications, the local development plan and what can be built where.
This month
Councils have been deciding individual planning applications and progressing local development plan work, including annual monitoring reports due with Welsh Government by 31 October 2026.[1][3]
What's happening
Blaenau Gwent and Powys approved their Annual Monitoring Report 2026 for submission to Welsh Government by 31 October 2026. Carmarthenshire's Cabinet recommended that full Council endorse its own report.[1][3][5]
Torfaen members supported keeping the 2026-2041 plan period for the Joint Local Development Plan with Blaenau Gwent. They generally supported the principle of a joint settlement hierarchy and will consider it further before it is finalised.[8]
Carmarthenshire Council approved four draft Supplementary Planning Guidance documents for six weeks of public consultation. Conwy's Cabinet approved revised local list guidance for a six-week consultation.[6][4]
Pressing issues
Some applications were deferred for site visits. Carmarthenshire deferred a convenience store at Tycroes over highway impact and safety concerns, and Vale of Glamorgan deferred apartments at the Castle Hotel, Barry.[2][7]
Welsh Government research found that 73% of local planning authorities have vacant posts. It says at least 161 additional planners are needed over the next five years.[12]
The research says real terms spending on local planning services fell by 43% between 2009 and 2024. Average cost recovery in development management rose from 46% to 56% over the same period.[12]
High phosphorus levels in river special areas of conservation mean many development proposals need nutrient mitigation measures. Audit Wales also lists phosphate discharge and drainage requirements as potential barriers to new affordable housing.[13][14]
The policy context
The Planning (Wales) Act 2026 became law on 27 April 2026. It was intended to improve legal clarity and usability rather than reform the planning system.[9]
Welsh Government says new Fee Regulations took effect on 1 December 2025 and that it is reintroducing the Performance Framework to monitor local authority performance.[11]
Welsh Government announced £447,400 to train planners. The Mid and West Wales Rural Planners scheme is expected to deliver up to 12 qualified planners over three years (2026-2029).[10]
Written in November 2026 from council records since 20 September 2026, open consultations and official sources. Written automatically, then checked: every point names its sources and every figure appears in them. Follow the links to check anything before relying on it.
Councils decide planning applications for new buildings, extensions and changes of use, and write the local development plan that says where new homes and jobs can go. National parks decide applications inside their boundaries.
Who decides
Planning officers decide most applications. Larger or disputed ones go to the planning committee of councillors, which meets in public.
Having a say
Anyone can comment on an application while it's open, usually for 21 days. Stick to planning matters such as traffic, design, noise and overlooking.
In numbers
Welsh councils plan to spend £40 per person on this in 2026-27.
It ranges from £13 in Pembrokeshire to £152 in Neath Port Talbot.
Planning applications decided within eight weeks: 43% across Wales.
Decided: Members were minded to grant conditional planning permission, subject to the applicant entering a Section 106 agreement for on-site affordable housing and commuted sum payments. If that agreement is not completed within three months, or a longer period agreed by the Development and Building Control Manager, permission would be refused. The Development and Building Control Manager will determine the application under delegation.
Decided: Members were minded to grant conditional planning permission, subject to: resolving further tree retention and measures to improve pedestrian connections and lighting in the area, to the satisfaction of the Development and Building Control Manager; and a Section 106 agreement for on-site affordable housing and open space, and commuted sums for waste and off-site open space. If these are not completed within three months, or a longer period agreed, permission would be refused. The Development and Building Control Manager will determine the application under delegation.
Carmarthenshire, Cabinet Member Rural Affairs, Communities, and Welsh Language,
Decided: The Cabinet Member approved the Matters Arising Changes (MACs) to the Revised LDP for formal public consultation. The Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (ISA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) were approved for consultation alongside the MACs. Officers were given delegated authority, meaning they can act without a further decision, to make minor factual, typographical, grammatical or presentational changes to the consultation documents before publication.
Decided: The committee granted temporary residential use of the caravan for three years, contrary to officer recommendations. The vote was 17 for, none against and 2 abstentions. The motion was proposed by Councillor Terry Mendies and seconded by Councillor Andrea Tomlin.
Decided: The committee refused planning permission, against officer recommendations, for the reason in the officer's latest report about surface water and flooding downstream. The motion to grant was defeated, with 7 votes for and 12 against.
Decided: The committee voted 18 to 0 to grant the application, in line with officer recommendations. The officer had recommended that the order be confirmed without any changes.
Decided: The committee granted planning permission for five shepherd's huts in line with officer recommendations. The vote was 17 for, 1 against and no abstentions, on a motion by Councillor Andrea Tomlin, seconded by Councillor Alan James.
Decided: Approved. The minute records that the committee resolved to approve the reserved matters application for 92 dwellings, with access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale to be agreed. The minute does not list conditions.
Decided: Refused, contrary to officer advice, for two reasons. First, there would be too little off-street parking, and no room on the street for the cars, so drivers would park where they should not, risking highway and pedestrian safety, contrary to Policy T6 of the Swansea Local Development Plan. Second, the on-site parking space blocks access to the cycle storage, which would also lead to indiscriminate parking and risk to safety, contrary to Policies T1, T5, T6 and PS2. Councillor A Davies was nominated to lead the defence of the decision at any appeal.
Decided: Consent granted to modify the Section 106 agreement of 17 February 2016 linked to planning permission 2015/1107, so that the six affordable homes can be managed by a registered social landlord and delivered as social rented tenure.
Decided: The Committee agreed to discharge (cancel) the Section 106 agreement, a legal deed attached to the 1994 permission. The house will no longer have to be tied to farm land or occupied by a farm worker. The Committee also agreed that if the deed is not completed within three months, the Head of Planning may refuse the application. The motion, moved by Councillor Mark Carter and seconded by Councillor Brian Hall, was carried with no votes against and no abstentions.
Decided: The Committee approved the application subject to the conditions in the report. The motion, moved by Councillor Alec Cormack and seconded by Councillor Michael Williams, was carried with ten votes for and none against.
Decided: The Committee refused the application by six votes to four. A motion to approve, moved by Councillor Brian Hall and seconded by Councillor John Cole, was lost by six votes to four. The refusal, moved by Councillor Michael Williams and seconded by Councillor Alec Cormack, was carried by six votes to four, for the reason in the report: the three units would not be a proportionate amount of development for a farm of limited scale, which conflicts with policies SP 1, GN.10 and GN.17 of the Local Development Plan.
Decided: The Committee gave delegated authority to the Head of Planning to approve the application once the applicant has submitted changes to the landscaping on the west boundary, an amended plan showing that total pitch numbers will not increase, and details of the package treatment plant (a small sewage system). The approval is subject to the conditions in the report. The motion, moved by Councillor Alec Cormack and seconded by Councillor Michael Williams, was carried with ten votes for and none against.
Decided: Councillors approved a 6.5% Council Tax rise and the 2026/27 budget, by 26 votes to 22 with 5 abstentions. They approved the capital strategy and capital programme to 2030/31, and gave officers delegated power to move up to £10k between approved schemes. They approved the 2026/27 treasury management and investment strategy, including borrowing limits. They approved delegated powers to use Compulsory Purchase Orders for the Biglis to Dinas Powys active travel route. They approved the 2026/27 Pay Policy.
Decided: Members approved the application, subject to changing condition 5 to address concerns about public use of the footway and footpath during building work.
Rhondda Cynon Taf, Planning and Development Committee,
Decided: Members were minded to refuse the application, against the officer recommendation. They deferred the final decision to the next meeting, for a report on the strengths and weaknesses of a decision against officer advice.
Rhondda Cynon Taf, Planning and Development Committee,
Decided: Members were minded to refuse the application, against the officer recommendation. The final decision was deferred to the next meeting, for a report on the strengths and weaknesses of deciding against officer advice.
Decided: Council did not vote on the motion itself. County Councillor David Selby moved to proceed to the next business, seconded by County Councillor Glyn Preston, and this passed by 29 votes to 27, with 2 abstentions. This means the motion was not decided.
Decided: Council gave delegated authority to the Head of Planning to approve the application, after publicity as a departure from policy, subject to a Section 106 agreement tying the business to the farm, and to conditions. If the agreement is not completed within three months, the Head of Planning may refuse the application. The vote was 28 for, 15 against and 1 abstention.
Decided: The minute records that decisions on planning applications are recorded as shown in Appendix A. That appendix is not in the papers available for this summary, so individual decisions cannot be reported. The committee also authorised the Planning and Development Manager to draft any amendments to, or additional conditions on, the applications.