Individual Government Offices have Planning Casework teams which, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, deal with decisions on whether to call-in planning applications referred under the Departure, Green Belt, Shopping, Flooding and Playing Field Directions and requests to call-in, for her own determination.
More information on the national picture
Firstly the Government Office for London is responsible for issuing decisions on whether to call-in planning applications referred under the Departure, Green Belt, Shopping, Playing Field and Flooding Directions in London.
As well as dealing the above GOL also handles Environmental Impact Assessments on behalf of the Secretary of State.
To view decisions recently issued by Government Office for London, on behalf of the Secretary of State, please see the links below.
The Secretary of State intervenes in very few planning applications, as the Government's policy on the use of power is to be very selective and not to interfere with the jurisdiction of a local planning authority unless it is necessary to do so. For details of the Secretary of State’s call in policy see link.
Secondly the Government Office for London takes decisions on whether to confirm Planning, Housing and Regional Development Agency Compulsory Purchase Orders for the whole of England.
