Housing and Planning Bill gives more powers to London mayor and combined authorities

Housing and planning minister Brandon Lewis tabled the amendment, which was recently agreed at committee stage. The suggested new schedule would be inserted into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

The amendment says that if the secretary of state believes that the relevant local planning authority is "failing, omitting to do anything it is necessary for them to do in connection with the preparation, revision or adoption of a development plan document" then the secretary of state can invite the London mayor or the combined authority to "prepare or revise the document".

In the schedule the secretary of state has reserved the power to direct the mayor or combined authority to make modifications to the document if the secretary of state thinks that it is "unsatisfactory" and this direction must be complied with.

After the document has been submitted for independent examination but before adoption, the secretary of state can also direct the London mayor or combined authority to withdraw the document.

Planning expert Richard Ford of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "With mayoral elections in May next year, the additional powers the mayor of London is getting are particularly under the spotlight as to how interventionist the mayor and the GLA will be in 2016."

"There is a strong desire for more intervention from a number of quarters and this additional power adds to that," said Ford. "It is however clear that DCLG wishes to keep control and so the clear direction of travel is more control by central government, more power to mayors and combined authorities and local boroughs continue to get squeezed unless they are seen as really delivering".