Performance update – December 2022
On a monthly basis, we publish the latest official statistics on appeals performance, which represent the highest volume (in terms of number of cases) of the work of the Planning Inspectorate.
We also update the appeals handling times data to give customers the latest information on the average time it takes to receive a decision and provide an update on our other main casework areas.
Appeals
Our appeal cases are dealt with in one of three ways; written representations, hearings, or inquiries. New Ministerial performance measures were announced earlier this year including an expectation to reduce average decision times over time and make our decision speeds more consistent. All our decision times are measured from the day we receive a valid appeal through to the day we issue a decision. This is the same approach Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) use for application times.
We closed over 1800 appeal cases in November. Although this is higher than most months, we are still generally receiving more appeals than we can currently decide. So please focus on resolving issues locally to reduce the number of appeals being submitted and help us improve. The overall number of open cases at the end of November was 14,477. We received 1,821 new cases in November and closed 1,801 (including withdrawn cases).
Thank you to appellants, local planning authorities and other parties who are helping us hold a high number of hearings, inquiries, and site visits. November saw the highest number in any month in the last two years (1,738) and most months we are holding more than we did in the corresponding month last year.
Appeals by hearing and inquiry continue to be one area of focus. Median decision times for planning appeal decisions after an inquiry remain below 30 weeks.
Since April we have been holding hearings for planning appeals much sooner and those appeals are already being decided much quicker. Where a hearing will be held, please be prepared for it to take place 14-16 weeks after submitting your appeal. We have not been able to achieve this improvement on our own, so thank you to the LPAs, appellants and other parties who have supported this by sticking to the timetables.
Median decision times for appeals considered through a hearing are reducing now that planning appeals by hearing follow the same general timetable as inquiries. The median time over the last few months remains 30-40 weeks as we decide older cases but is expected to speed up and align with inquiry decision speeds as those older cases reduce in number.
Decisions on written representations appeals continue to take longer than we would like as we are focusing on other areas of casework. The median decision time over the last twelve months is currently 25 weeks for written planning appeals and 38 weeks for written enforcement appeals, although both were slightly higher than this last month. These are average times, so many are decided much quicker, and many can take longer. The experimental statistics we published last month provide more information on the range of decision times for different case types.
We have updated all our appeals guidance on GOV.UK to remove reference to virtual events being hosted by the Planning Inspectorate and encourage all Local Planning Authorities, Order Making Authorities, and anyone else hosting a virtual event to read this guidance.
National Infrastructure
We have a high number of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) at various stages:
- 67 where we are providing advice before submission
- 15 submitted and at acceptance, pre-examination or examination
- 1 where we are preparing our recommendation
- 7 where the relevant Secretary of State is considering our recommendation
The continuous work to examine NSIPs is key to the economic growth of the country. In the last month the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy granted development consent for the Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station following an examination and recommendation by the Planning Inspectorate.
The new year will continue to see more important NSIP decisions made with those awaiting decisions from the relevant Secretary of State including:
- East Northants Resource Management Facility Western Extension which would see the alteration of existing and the construction of new facilities for the recovery, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste and disposal of low-level radioactive waste
- Boston Alternative Energy Facility – a 102MWe gross (80MWe exportable) energy from waste facility with light weight aggregates facility, wharf, waste reception and storage facility and grid connection.
Local Plans
There are currently 58 live Local Plan examinations in progress. Communities use Local Plans to plan for their future and help to protect them from speculative or unwanted proposals. We encourage Local Planning Authorities (LPA) to use our advisory visits to help them get their plans in good shape and deal with challenges well before submission.
In the last month both North Lincolnshire Council and Spelthorne Borough Council submitted their Local Plans to us for independent examination. Breckland Council has submitted its Local Plan Partial Review.
If you are interested in taking part on Local Plan examinations take a look at our recently-launched series of short films that explain how you can get involved.