Local Authority Service Developments: Early 2026 and beyond

At Planning Portal, we know local authorities are under sustained pressure – from rising workloads to shifting policy and stretched resources. That’s why we’re committed to supporting you where it matters most: improving submission quality at source, reducing validation demands on your team, and streamlining processes before applications reach you.

As sector partners, we continually review and refine our planning and building control services to ensure they work effectively for all our stakeholders. Shaped by user research and close collaboration with local authorities, our programme of Q1 and Q2 enhancements is designed to reduce administrative burden, improve validation rates, and strengthen confidence in the applications you receive – supporting more streamlined and resilient planning processes for everyone.

Below is a summary of the key changes coming in the first part of 2026 – and what they mean for your authority.

1) Local Validation Checklists – built into the application journey 

We know validation places significant pressure on already stretched local authority teams. That’s why improving validation rates upstream is a key priority for us in 2026 – helping prevent avoidable workload before applications reach you. 

With this in mind, we’ve started the year by bringing Local Validation Checklists directly into the application journey. 

What’s new? 

💡We recognise that Local Authorities host and maintain their own Local Validation Checklists. From Q2 2026, direct links to these checklists will be integrated into the application process. 

Applicants will be prompted to review the relevant local checklist as part of their submission journey and, crucially, must explicitly confirm that they have reviewed it before they can proceed. The checklist will be surfaced via a direct link within the application flow – ensuring your local requirements are clearly signposted at the right point in the process. 

What does it mean for you? 

✅By making local requirements clearer at source, we’re helping to improve the quality and completeness of submissions. 

This means fewer invalid applications due to missing information, reduced delays, and a smoother, more efficient validation process aligned with your local requirements. 

2) Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – integrated into digital question set 

We know Community Infrastructure Levy errors can create additional work and follow-up queries for local authorities. As part of our focus on improving submission quality at source, we’re moving from document-based CIL submissions to structured data capture within the application journey. 

What’s new? 

💡CIL questions will be embedded directly into the core application submission flow for CIL-enabled authorities. 

Conditional logic will ensure applicants complete the correct sections and cannot proceed without providing the required information. This removes reliance on separate document uploads and reduces manual interpretation of standalone CIL forms. 

What does this mean for you? 

✅This approach will directly reduce invalid applications caused by CIL errors, cutting avoidable rework and administrative effort for validation teams.

By improving completeness and accuracy at the point of submission, authorities benefit from higher-quality data, faster validation decisions, and cleaner downstream processing – supporting a more scalable, data-driven approach.

The feature will be activated for CIL-enabled LPAs and replace the current manually filled PDF with high-quality, system-generated CIL forms.

For those using the JSON Connector, CIL information will also be provided as structured data, helping to significantly streamline back-office processes. Please speak to your ICT supplier to find out how to benefit from this feature.

3) Automated refunds 

We’re introducing automation across the refund journey for LPAs, replacing the current manual, email-led process.

What’s new? 

💡Instead of handling refunds through emails and forms, LPAs will be able to review and approve refund requests in one click in LPA Admin, with clear visibility of the refund status.

What does this mean for you? 

✅This creates a clearer refunds process that reduces delays, removes ambiguity, and significantly cuts down administration around refunds at local authority teams. 

5) Assisted living project guidance – expanded mini-guides 

We’re expanding our planning content to better support homeowners and families exploring adaptations for assisted living. 

What’s new?

💡This means clearer, more structured guidance across common adaptation categories such as stairlifts, ramps and widened doorways – helping applicants understand what is typically required, what considerations may apply, and when planning permission is likely to be involved.  

What does this mean for you? 

✅By improving the clarity and accessibility of guidance at the earliest stage, we aim to reduce uncertainty and help applicants make more informed decisions before submission. In turn, this should support better-prepared applications, fewer avoidable queries, and a smoother review process for authorities assessing assisted living adaptations. 

6) New application forms 

We’ve introduced three new digital forms to Planning Portal to support emerging policy and sector needs. 

What’s new? 

💡The new forms are: 

• Application for Permission in Principle – A lighter touch process to check that a small residential development is acceptable in principle, before having to submitting full technical details for approval 

• Application for a Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Works to a Listed Building – Confirms that works are lawful and do not require listed building consent. 

• Planning application for development relating to the onshore extraction of oil and gas – Covers a wide range of consent scenarios specific to these types of proposals 

These forms have been built in line with emerging national data standards, supporting a structured and consistent approach to submission. 

What does this mean for you? 

✅Providing these applications digitally helps improve the quality, consistency and completeness of submissions received by authorities. 

These forms have become more relevant recently. With the introduction of the ‘grey belt’ land categorisation, for example, many applicants are exploring Permission in Principle to test how policy may apply to their sites. Making this form available digitally supports clearer, more standardised submissions which suit modern planning priorities. 

Further updates 

💡AI planning policy navigator

Alongside the updates listed above, we’re also developing a new digital planning policy navigator within Interactive House to support applicants earlier in their planning journey.

Already used by millions of homeowners and professionals each year, Interactive House helps people understand common projects and planning requirements before they apply. The new guidance navigator will introduce a chat-based conversational interface that provides real-time guidance based exclusively on Planning Portal content and national planning policy sources.

More than a simple chatbot, the tool is designed to help applicants prepare stronger submissions through clearer guidance before they apply, while also reducing avoidable enquiries for Local Planning Authorities. We look forward to sharing more details very soon.

💡Supporting documents – improved upload experience 

We’re upgrading the Supporting Documents upload experience for applicants to provide clearer guidance, real-time feedback, and more resilient handling of large document sets. Each document now has its own upload progress indicator and in-context error guidance, allowing issues to be resolved on a file-by-file basis without restarting the entire process. 

For authorities, this supports fewer incomplete or failed submissions, reduced document-related queries, and greater confidence in the quality of documents received. 

💡Bulk payment for multiple applications 

Agents can now also settle multiple outstanding payments in a single transaction, rather than paying individually. For authorities, this means shorter payment and release times and the reduced need for manual matching or finance follow-up. 

💡National Planning Application Fee increase 

As covered in our previous blog post, the Government is updating planning application fees in England from 1 April. We’ll be updating our site and fee schedule in line with these changes when they come into effect. You can find out more about the update here.

Looking ahead

These 2026 improvements reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting local authorities to deliver efficient, transparent and resilient planning services – improving validation rates, reducing avoidable delays, and helping ensure the applications reaching your teams are of the highest possible standard.

At Planning Portal, we are committed to being more than just a submission channel. We aim to be a trusted partner in national planning, building services that understand, adapt and evolve with the needs of local authorities. Throughout 2026 and beyond, we will continue working closely with LPAs and industry partners – listening, learning and refining – so that every enhancement is shaped by real feedback and designed to ease the pressures you face every day.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our team, please get in touch at userresearch@terraquest.co.uk
– your insight helps shape what we do next.