Press Release - Planning for Homes: Speeding up
planning applications for major housing developments in
England
17 December 2008
The Department for Communities and Local
Government has given local authorities approximately £68 million a
year to improve the handling of planning applications and in
particular to speed them up. While authorities are taking more
decisions on major housing schemes within 13 weeks, the true extent
of the improvement across the development process is not as clear
as it could be.
The combination of the extra grant and the
setting by the Department of targets has encouraged local
authorities to give a higher priority to taking speedier decisions.
The Department’s figures on processing planning applications for
large housing developments show a significant improvement, with 67
per cent of decisions being reached in 13 weeks in 2007-08, up from
37 per cent in 2002-03. But the extent of improvement across the
development process is less clear because the Department’s
performance measure excludes the time spent before an application’s
submission and after its subsequent approval, both of which can be
substantial.
The Department does not collect data on how
long it took to reach these decisions. The National Audit Office
found that, for the 11 authorities we visited, decisions to reject
were taken more quickly than those to approve, with approval taking
on average 25 weeks for 100 cases which we examined from
2006-07.
To try to help speed up and improve the
process, the Department has successfully encouraged planning
authorities to hold pre-application discussions with developers.
There can, however, be a lack of clarity over the purpose of these
discussions and, as a result, authorities take an inconsistent
approach in handling these meetings, reducing their effectiveness.
For example, Authority staff may lack the experience or seniority
required, and there can be a lack of continuity of staffing between
these discussions and the application itself.
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit
Office, said today:
“The Department has given local
authorities a greater financial incentive to reach quicker
decisions on planning applications, with more decisions on major
housing schemes now being taken within 13 weeks than five years
ago. Whether the speed of development has increased is less clear.
The Department should use the data collected by the National Audit
Office as a benchmark for assessing its future effectiveness in
improving the planning process.”
Notes for Editors
1. As part of the
NAO’s examination, it reviewed the case history of 100 major
residential applications (i.e. developments of 10 or more homes)
approved in 2006-07 by 11 Authorities, providing for the first time
reliable data on how long the whole process takes.
2. Press notices and
reports are available from the date of publication on the NAO
website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
3. The Comptroller and
Auditor General, Tim Burr, is the head of the National Audit Office
which employs some 850 staff. He and the NAO are totally
independent of Government. He certifies the accounts of all
Government departments and a wide range of other public sector
bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to Parliament on
the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments
and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice
57/08
All enquiries to
Mark Anderson, NAO Press Office: Tel: 020 7798 7558
Mobile: 077796 937
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