Planning applications rise
Planning applications rise as English districts make more decisions
The latest quarterly development control statistics compiled by the Government have shown that district planning authorities in England received two per cent more planning applications between April and June this year compared to the same period in 2006.
Overall during the second quarter of 2007, district planning authorities determined some 156,000 planning application, an increase of one per cent on the corresponding quarter a year ago.
London saw a nine per cent increase in applications while in the East of England applications were five per cent up. Other regions which recorded a rise in applications were the South East (three per cent) and the North West (one per cent).
Householder decisions accounted for 52 per cent of all determinations, in line with the proportion recorded during the second quarter of 2006.
These latest figures showed that some 83 per cent of all decisions in the second quarter of 2007 were granted, an increase of one per cent compared with the same quarter in 2006. Approval rates across the regions ranged from 77 per cent in London to 91 per cent in the North East.
In terms of speed of decisions for major applications, the rate was unchanged during the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. In the case of approvals for minor applications, district councils recorded a two percentage point improvement on their performance 12 months ago.