Theatres Trust to be side-lined by review of Statutory Consultee System

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced that it will be reviewing the statutory consultee system.

The UK government says:

'Further reforms to overhaul the planning system have been set out this week (10 March 2025), putting growth at the heart of the statutory consultee system and helping deliver the government’s Plan for Change milestone of delivering 1.5 million new homes.

'Under new plans organisations such as Sport England, Theatres Trust and The Gardens Trust will no longer be required to input on planning decisions. The scope of other statutory consultees will be narrowed to focus on heritage, safety and environmental protection, speeding up the building process and preventing delays to homes being built.

'“Statutory consultees” are official stakeholders legally required to provide advice on planning decisions to ensure developments can consider essential environmental, transport, heritage and safety elements. They play an important role in the planning system, but councils and developers report that the system is not working effectively.

'The changes are part of the government’s ongoing stream of work to break down barriers to growth and get Britain building. They come ahead of the government’s flagship Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will be introduced this week and will support the government’s Plan for Change commitment to build 1.5 million homes.'

In response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government proposed “review of statutory consultee system” Joshua McTaggart, CEO of Theatres Trust, and Dave Moutrey OBE, Chair of Theatres Trust, comment:

"While Theatres Trust welcomes Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s announcement of a review into the planning statutory consultee system, of which Theatres Trust is a committed and active part, we do not recognise the characterisation of Theatres Trust, made by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as being an impediment to growth.

As part of The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, Theatres Trust is a statutory consultee in England in relation to ‘development involving any land on which there is a theatre’.  This is a responsibility we take seriously and deliver diligently alongside our expert advice services to local authorities, developers and operators. In 2023/24, we responded to 238 Planning and Pre-Planning Applications that fell within our remit; 100% of these were dealt with in the allotted 21 days.

Theatres Trust is confident that, contrary to MHCLG’s statement, we proactively engage with all local planning authorities and developers and provide our advice in a timely and efficient manner, actively feeding into and championing culture in Local Plans.

We are confident that Theatres Trust plays a proactive role in empowering the future of the Creative Industries, one of the government’s priority sectors in the industrial strategy. While housebuilding is a necessary part of the country’s growth, we know this government also understands that communities need to have access to culture, storytelling and educational opportunities. Theatres are a key provider of this, and theatres are what we endeavour to protect.

Theatres Trust was established through an Act of Parliament in 1976 after over 800 theatres in the UK had been demolished or irrevocably altered. This shows that the then government understood the need to protect our cultural heritage so future generations could have access to live performance. Theatres Trust’s committed team works hard to uphold these principles and values in everything we do, especially in our planning consultation responses.

Theatres Trust welcomes the opportunity to interrogate our ways of working and evaluate our impact on the wider planning process in England. However, we do not recognise the characterisation of Theatres Trust as a “bureaucratic burden” and trust that the Deputy Prime Minister will oversee a data-led and rigorous process that will ensure each of the individual 25 statutory consultees are considered on their own merit.

Theatres Trust will continue to actively contribute to the government’s growth mission both within and outside of our statutory planning consultation work, and we are confident that the quality of our work and the depth of its impact will speak for itself."