Councils are not meeting planning decision targets, Government figures reveal

The number of major planning application decisions decided within 13 weeks, the target timeframe set by Government for “major developments”, fell by 8% in the year ending September 2011, compared to the same period in 2010. Councils are also increasingly missing decision time targets for smaller applications, according to the figures.

Councils processed 62% of major applications within the Government's target 13 week period in the year ending September 2011, compared to 70% during the same period in 2010.

Councils also processed 5% fewer smaller applications within the Government's eight week target timeframe in the year ending September 2011. Whilst 77% of minor applications were processed within the Government's eight week target in the year ending September 2010, this fell to 72% for the same period in 2011.

The figures show that council planning departments are holding up more planning applications, despite an overall drop in the number of applications. District planning authorities received 471, 900 applications in the year ending September 2011, a decrease of 2% on the year ending September 2010.

The figures also show that district planning authorities granted 1,000 more permissions in the year ending September 2011, compared to the year ending September 2010. Whilst 349,700 permissions were granted in 2010, 350,700 permissions were granted in 2011.