New planning rules risk weakening democratic accountability, Norfolk council leaders have warned, as they urged Angela Rayner to be prepared to reconsider the changes.
Changes to the procedure around planning applications - and which are put before councillors for decisions - will come into effect on October 31, after the Labour government changed national policies.
Reform-led Norfolk County Council recently agreed, reluctantly, to change its constitution in line with the changes, but councillors said they feared they were "losing control" of planning.
And County Hall's deputy leader Robin Hunter-Clarke has written to local government secretary Ms Rayner to warn her the changes represent an "unnecessary and damaging restriction on local democratic decision-making".
The new regulations bring in a two-tier system which divides planning applications into two schedules.
Those in schedule one, such as home extensions and proposals for between one and nine new homes, on a site smaller than 1.2 acres, will always be delegated to officers for decisions.
The overriding presumption is that others - in schedule two - will be referred to committees only if they pass a 'gateway test' agreed by a nominated officer and nominated member.
The gateway test would apply if the officer and member agree the applications raise "one or more issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area" or where the application "raises a significant planning matter having regard to the development plan and any other material considerations".
The government says what constitutes "significant" will vary depending on the local area.
The changes also take away councillors' ability to "call in" applications or for them to be referred to committees if a certain number of objections are reached.
Most planning applications, including those around new homes, are dealt with by district councils, but the county council makes decisions on matters such as schools, waste facilities and quarries.
Mr Hunter-Clarke said: "Planning decisions cannot sensibly be reduced to a one size fits all national approach. Local knowledge matters. Democratic accountability matters.
"The ability of elected members to consider the particular circumstances and impacts of a development on the communities they represent also matters."
He said he was particularly concerned the judgement-based criteria around the gateway test could lead to councils interpreting and applying them differently.
Mr Hunter-Clarke added that if reviews show the changes do weaken democratic accountability and decision-making, the government should repeal them.
When the changes were initially announced, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "We are modernising planning committees to improve their efficiency and to ensure planning applicants and local authorities have the clarity they need to get on and deliver the homes this country desperately needs."
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