Planning Authority Performance Statistics 2013/14

6. Average decision times - Quarterly trends for Legal Agreements

The timescales for applications with legal agreements (Quarter 4, 2013/14 - Table 13) are dependent on the nature of the application, the particular complexities involved and the willingness of both the applicant and the planning authority to progress the matter at pace. Delays in concluding legal agreements are one of the most frequent reasons for the clock to be stopped on the decision time for an application. Improvements in reporting these delays is likely to contribute to the improvement in average decision times seen in the data for later quarters below.

6.1 Local Developments with Legal Agreements

In the latest quarter there were 105 applications (validated post 3rd August 2009) where planning authorities have had planning/legal agreements in place for local developments. The average time taken to make decisions on these applications was 41.9 weeks, the lowest average decision time over the past two years.

6.2 Major Developments with Legal Agreements

There were 32 applications (validated post 3rd August 2009) where planning authorities have had planning/legal agreements in place for major developments. The average time taken to make decisions on these applications was 48.4 weeks, also the lowest average decision time over the past two years.

The timescales involved in concluding legal agreements prior to issue of planning permission will have had a significant influence on the overall average decision times for major applications.