Further to WEA Planning’s previous article, ‘Appeal Delays’, the latest statistics from the Planning Inspectorate with regards to the time it is taking to determine different types of planning appeals was published on 9thOctober 2018 with significant changes compared to the previous figures of October 2017, February 2018 and March 2018.
A slight improvement was noticed for householder, advertisement consent and other minor appeals, with the waiting for determination time decreasing from 17 weeks in February 2018 to 14 weeks this October. However, 14 weeks is still a long time and much longer than the 8 weeks the Local Planning Authority has to determine the original application.
At the same time, developers who wish to appeal should have in mind that even longer delays are expected for planning and enforcement appeals this year.
For general planning appeals, including those for Listed Buildings, the determination period for written representation has been increased from 24 to 28 weeks since March 2018. Hearings for Planning Appeals are taking up to 49 weeks, which is an increase of 13 weeks compared to the March statistics. Similarly, the expected determination time for inquiries has increased by 10 weeks to 59 weeks.
Comparison of the previous figures highlights the fact that the time taken to determine hearing appeals for Enforcement, including Listed Building Enforcement, and Lawful Development Certificates will face even longer delays, with the determination time increasing by 25 weeks from March 2018 and reaching 62 weeks in October 2018. In cases where a public inquiry is necessary, the appellant will have to wait up to one year and a half (70 weeks) while for written representations, the waiting time has been increased to 44 weeks.
Given the above delays will significantly increase the costs and time spent for homeowners, consultants and developers alongside Brexit uncertainty, we expect the government to act to prevent a further slow down in the property market.
Article authored by Michaela Kekeri MSc, MEng