Planning enforcement in the top 5
Cornwall Council is one of the top 5 authorities in England for planning enforcement. Latest Government information shows we served 90 enforcement notices in 2024/2025. 18 of the notices went to appeal, with 17 then upheld. This is a 94% success rate which is above national average. You can read the full article at: Planning Enforcement good news story April 2026.
Housing Growth Prospectus
Cornwall Council is working proactively to meet the growing housing needs of Cornwall. We have the second-highest housing target in England. We know that building homes faster is the key to our future. It gives our residents the places they need to live and boosts our local economy. It helps Cornwall lead the way in clean energy for the whole country.
Our goal is simple but ambitious:
- build 4,421 homes every year
- make sure many more of these are homes people can actually afford
We are implementing an 8-point plan in partnership with Homes England to do this. You can find out more in our Cornwall Housing Growth Prospectus 2026-27.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
The Planning Inspectorate has issued guidance on how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in appeals, applications or examinations. The guidance explains:
- when you must declare that you used AI
- what details to include in an AI disclosure statement, and
- what responsibilities you have when submitting AI-assisted material.
Cornwall Council recognises that AI tools can also assist residents in preparing planning comments.
If you use AI to help prepare your objection or supporting comment, please include a short note telling us:
- that AI was used
- which tool you used - For example, CoPilot, ChatGPT or another application.
- what it was used for and how it was used - For example, if it was used to draft an objection in general or a specific part of an objection
- that you have checked the content and take responsibility for its accuracy.
This helps ensure fair, transparent decision-making.
You can read the full guidance at: Use of AI in casework evidence
Upcoming changes to written representation appeals
The Planning Inspectorate announced proposed changes to written representation appeals from 1 April 2026. You can find out more about what this means for appellants, the Local Planning Authority and interested parties on our Planning Appeals web page.
National Planning changes
The Government published a draft new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on 16 December 2025. This sets out revised guidance and decision-making policies for planning across England. The changes were subject to a current consultation that ended on 10 March. The Council's Policy team have written a briefing note to provide a brief summary of the key changes and to help individuals make their own consultation response.
Cornwall Council have written a response to the questions with most relevance to Cornwall:
Other consultation responses
Spatial Development Strategies geographies:
The Council has responded to the Government's Consultation on SDS geographies.
These are our online response and additional information on the consultation response.
Design and Placemaking guidance:
Cornwall Council has responded to the Government's Design and Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance Public Consultation.
You can read our response at Design and Placemaking PPG consultation response (March 2026).
You can find more information on Government planning consultations on our Planning Changes webpage.
Planning news Winter 2026
We have published our Winter quarterly planning newsletters:
- Planning News for Local Councils and Agents
You can find links to these newsletters on our Planning News page.
Our next newsletter is due in April 2026.