Decisions, decisions: a long wait for the nod

Developers with major planning application appeals are facing growing waits, with the average decision taking 257 days last year. This is an increase of three weeks compared with four years ago. However, while the waits have been steadily increasing, the number of applications going to appeal is on a decline. Last year, planning inspectors debated 975 major planning appeals and approved 322 applications – equating to a third of appeals. Some 75% of the approved schemes were residential developments, comprising 19,891 new homes. Major schemes to receive approval at appeal included Richard Desmond’s Westferry Printworks, which waited 239 days for the 1,524-flat scheme on the Isle of Dogs, E14, and Countryside’s 1,138-flat Heybridge scheme in Essex, which was approved after 143 days. The longest time to make a decision was 665 days to approve a 14-home scheme in Kingswood, Gloucestershire. These waits compare to an average decision time of 236 days in 2015, when 1,139 planning applications went to appeal. Of those applications, 483 were approved by the Planning Inspectorate, making up 42% of appeals. In the five-year period, inspectors approved 116,475 homes across 2,015 developments, out of some 5,235 planning appeals. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette