Planning Inspectorate Performance update – June 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.
As we are in the pre-election period we have removed the usual commentary from this news story. We will return to the normal style for performance updates following the General Election.
Appeals
Our appeal cases are dealt with in one of three ways: written representations, hearings, or inquiries. 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.
Time to decide cases
The median decision time for cases decided in May was 26 weeks. The average over the past 12 months was 30 weeks.
Decisions
We made 18,412 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,534 per month. The number of decisions in May 2024 was 1,571.
Open Cases
At the end of May 2024, we had 13,137 cases open after having closed 128 more cases than received.
National Infrastructure
We have a number of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) at various stages:
- 69 where we are providing advice before submission
- 20 submitted and at acceptance, pre-examination, or examination
- 2 where we are preparing our recommendation
- 12 where the relevant Secretary of State is considering our recommendation
Local Plans
There are currently 46 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.