Mayor Luke backs new planning powers to unlock homes, jobs and investment

Mayor Luke has welcomed new strategic planning powers, saying Hull and East Yorkshire should be ready to use them carefully to unlock major sites, get more homes built and support long-term growth.

The Government is consulting on the regulations needed to bring new mayoral planning powers into operation following the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026. 

The powers are aimed at applications of potential strategic importance - major developments whose scale or impact can matter beyond a single site. They would allow a mayor, in defined circumstances, either to direct the local planning authority to refuse a qualifying application or to call it in and determine it at mayoral level. 

Mayors will also be able to use Mayoral Development Orders to grant planning permission for strategic development in advance, and in future a Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy could help fund strategic infrastructure once a Spatial Development Strategy is in place. 

For Hull and East Yorkshire, the proposals arrive as HEYCA is already building the housing, regeneration and infrastructure pipeline needed to turn new devolved powers into delivery. 

What 'call-in' actually means

Call-in is not a new idea in the planning system. The Secretary of State already has a longstanding power to take over a planning application where issues are considered to be of more than local importance, and the Mayor of London has had strategic intervention powers since 2008. 

The new law extends a similar strategic model to mayors elsewhere in England. It does not make the Mayor the planning authority for every application and it does not transfer ordinary day-to-day planning work away from Hull City Council or East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 

Under the Government's proposed process, qualifying applications would first be referred to the Mayor. The council would continue its normal planning work and, before taking a final decision, would notify the Mayor of its proposed position. The Mayor would then have a limited period to decide whether there is a proper strategic planning reason to intervene or to leave the decision with the council.

If an application is called in, the Mayor would become the planning authority only for that case. The application would still have to be decided under planning law, with the development plan and other material planning considerations taken into account, and the applicant and other interested parties would have an opportunity to make representations. 

Which developments could be affected? 

The Government is consulting on national thresholds for applications of potential strategic importance outside London. 

The proposed large-scale categories available from the start include developments of more than 150 homes, more than 15,000 square metres of non-residential or mixed-use floorspace, and buildings over 30 metres in height. 

The consultation also proposes a wider range of strategic infrastructure and policy-related categories as Spatial Development Strategies are put in place. These include certain major energy and infrastructure schemes and development affecting strategic policies. The detailed scope is still being consulted on and will be set through secondary legislation. 

Before a Spatial Development Strategy is adopted, the Government proposes that mayoral intervention should be linked directly to housing or economic growth and supported by sound planning reasons. Once the strategy is adopted, it would become a central part of the test for intervention. 

Mayor Luke - 'This is about the big strategic decisions' 

Mayor Luke Campbell MBE, Mayor of Hull & East Yorkshire said -

“I've said from the start that devolution has to be about getting things done, not just creating another layer of politics.

“This isn't about the Mayor deciding every planning application. Councils will still do the day-to-day planning work and that matters. These powers are for the big strategic decisions on sites that can unlock homes, jobs, infrastructure and investment across our region. 

“We already know there are sites with huge potential in Hull and East Yorkshire, but sometimes major projects can take too long or get stuck. If these powers can help us bring partners together, remove barriers and get good development moving, then I want us ready to use them properly. 

“We've not waited for the powers to arrive before doing the work. The team is already looking at our housing pipeline, how we plan for growth across the whole region and where mayoral powers could genuinely make a difference. I've also asked for work to look at the potential of a Mayoral Development Corporation in Hull's Western Docklands. 

“The important thing is that any power is used carefully, transparently and for the right reasons. I want to work with both councils, not against them. But where something is strategically important for Hull and East Yorkshire, I also want us to have the tools and confidence to get it moving.”

The work is already underway

HEYCA's Gameplan sets Affordable Homes as one of the region's four priorities and commits the Combined Authority to assess how powers over land assembly, compulsory purchase, development orders, infrastructure funding and Mayoral Development Corporations could help unlock stalled sites, speed up delivery and get more homes built. 

The Combined Authority is creating a single pipeline of priority housing sites with Homes England and registered providers and developing a Strategic Place Partnership to help sequence housing, regeneration and investment activity across the region. 

HEYCA is also preparing for a regional Spatial Development Strategy. This will set the long-term strategic framework for housing and employment growth, infrastructure, nature and flood risk across Hull and East Yorkshire. 

The Local Growth Plan identifies an accelerated pipeline with opportunities for more than 5,400 homes. It also includes a feasibility study for the Western Docklands and St Andrew's Dock, including consideration of whether a Mayoral Development Corporation could provide a coordinated way to bring housing, employment and regeneration opportunities forward. 

A wider opportunity for social and affordable housing

The planning reforms come at the same time as the Government's ten-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, creating a wider opportunity to link planning, land, infrastructure and housing investment. 

The programme has a national target for at least 60 per cent of homes delivered through it to be for Social Rent. The first Strategic Partnership allocations outside London total £9.58 billion across 33 providers, while more than £16 billion remains to be allocated outside London over the lifetime of the programme. 

Hull and East Yorkshire does not have a ring-fenced mayoral allocation from that first wave. The opportunity now is to make sure the region has a strong, deliverable pipeline and the partnerships needed to compete for and shape future investment. 

For HEYCA, the aim is not simply to build more homes. It is to help deliver the right homes, in the right places - connected to jobs, transport, education, health services and the infrastructure communities need - while making better use of brownfield and underused land. 

Why deeper devolution matters

Government policy increasingly links deeper devolution with greater local influence over strategic planning and housing investment.

Mayor Luke has been pressing for a clear and rapid route for Hull and East Yorkshire to move to Established Mayoral Strategic Authority status. Established areas already have additional funding flexibilities and, under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, a stronger formal role in setting strategic priorities for housing investment. 

The Mayor's position is that Hull and East Yorkshire should not wait for deeper status before doing the groundwork. Building the housing pipeline, the Spatial Development Strategy, the Homes England partnership and the evidence for strategic sites now means the region can be ready to use further powers and funding when they become available. 

What happens next?

The Government consultation closes at 23:59 on 5 October 2026. Subject to the outcome of the consultation and parliamentary scheduling, the Government intends to bring the strategic call-in powers into force in early 2027 and to put the legal framework for Mayoral Development Orders in place by the end of 2026. 

HEYCA will consider the proposals in detail with Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and other partners before responding. 

In parallel, work will continue on the regional housing pipeline, the Strategic Place Partnership, the Spatial Development Strategy and the Western Docklands feasibility study. 

Find out more

Wednesday, 30th September 2026