Speed Of Planning Decisions - 09 June 2023

Speed Of Planning Decisions

The Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in Northamptonshire are North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) and West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).  They have statutory duties to determine planning applications, ranging from an application to repaint the rear dormer window on a listed building, to a major application for hundreds of new homes.  The LPAs are measured on their planning performance, including on the number of applications determined within the statutory timeframe.  For Q1 2023, NNC dealt with 25 major applications and decided 96% in time.  WNC dealt with 30 major applications and decided 70% in time.  The national average for major applications is 89% decided in time.  For non-major applications, NNC had 318 and decided 83% of those in time, and WNC had 490 non-major applications and decided 80% in time.  The national average for non-major applications is 87% decided in time.  Whilst the LPA can extend the response time (particularly for major applications), any delays in throughput has a knock-on effect further down the line, and serious delays increase the risk of appeals on procedural grounds.