Tees Valley mayor set to gain powers over major planning applications

Tees Valley mayor set to get new powers over major planning applications

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Major housing, commercial and tall-building schemes across the Tees Valley could be called in by the mayor under new planning proposals announced by government.

By The Tees Editorial Desk · 27 August 2026

The front door of 10 Downing Street, used with the government announcement on new mayoral planning powers. Image: Image: GOV.UK, Crown copyright. Used under the Open Government Licence.Original source

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The Tees Valley mayor is set to gain new powers to step into some of the region’s biggest planning decisions under proposals announced by the government.

The change would allow mayors outside London to “call in” major applications and take over the decision from a council. The national thresholds announced so far cover schemes with more than 150 homes, commercial developments of more than 15,000 square metres, and buildings over 30 metres tall.

That does not mean every development above those thresholds will automatically be decided by the mayor. Councils would continue to handle the majority of planning applications, while the new power would apply to larger schemes a mayor chooses to call in.

The government says decisions would still have to follow planning law, the relevant local plan and national planning policy. Applicants would keep their existing right of appeal, while ministers would their own power to intervene.

For the Tees Valley, the change could affect major schemes across Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Darlington.

welcomed the announcement this week. Mayor Ben Houchen said believed the additional powers could help move major projects forward and support growth and employment. Those are the mayor’s stated aims for the change rather than guaranteed .

The also pointed to the size of the local construction sector, which it says contributed £833 million to the Tees Valley economy in 2025. It reports that construction employment in the region has risen by 32% since 2014 and is to exceed 21,000 jobs by 2034.

The wider government announcement goes beyond individual planning applications. It says mayors will also have a greater say over national housing funding in their areas, while Homes England would focus its funding and expertise around priorities agreed with mayors. Proposals also include powers to permission in advance in designated circumstances and to raise a development levy for major .

The detailed proposals are due to be published by government, so the precise way the powers will operate in practice will matter. For now, the change is that some of the biggest planning decisions in the Tees Valley could ultimately move from individual councils to the mayoral level.

: The local response and Tees Valley construction figures come from Tees Valley Combined Authority, published 25 August 2026. The proposed thresholds and national safeguards were checked against the UK Government announcement published 23 August 2026.