Planning Inspectorate Performance update – February 2024
Performance and other updates following the publication of our latest official monthly statistics.
On a monthly basis, we publish the latest official statistics on appeals performance, which represent the greatest 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. Ministerial performance measures include 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 as Local Planning Authorities.
In January we continued a trend going back to June 2023 of closing more cases than we received. At the end of January 2024, we had 13,570 cases open after closing 285 more cases than we received.
We held 1,953 events in January, comfortably the highest number over the last 12 months.
We’re committed to removing our casework backlog so that all our casework is decided in consistent timeframes, whilst maintaining high standards in our decisions. To help us achieve that, we’ve been deciding many older planning appeals decided by written representations. Throughout 2024 we will continue to do this so that our decisions become faster and are made in a more consistent timeframe.
Median decision times
The median decision time for cases decided in January 2024 was 30 weeks. The median over the last 12 months was 31 weeks.
| 12 months to January 2024 median decision time | January 2024 median decision time | |
|---|---|---|
| Planning appeals by written representations | 29 weeks | 29 weeks |
| Planning appeals by hearing | 28 weeks | 29 weeks |
| Planning appeals by inquiry | 31 weeks | 35 weeks |
| Enforcement appeals by written representations | 52 weeks | 46 weeks |
| Enforcement appeals by hearing | 67 weeks | 70 weeks |
| Enforcement appeals by inquiry | 91 weeks | 81 weeks |
| All appeals | 31 weeks | 30 weeks |
National Infrastructure
The number of applications has started to rise but we continue to meet all statutory deadlines.
We have a high number of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) at various stages:
- 77 where we are providing advice before submission.
- 15 submitted and at acceptance, pre-examination, or examination.
- 4 where we are preparing our recommendation.
- 11 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 week an NSIP has been granted development consent by the relevant Secretary of State.
The Net Zero Teesside Project, a full chain carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (‘CCUS’) project.
Local Plans
There are currently 43 live Local Plan examinations in progress.
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.