By The housing and communities minister, James Brokenshire, has announced that the government plans to reduce the average time it takes for a planning appeal to be processed.
This follows an independent review carried out by Bridget Rosewell CBE, a qualified economist, that concluded builders and communities need more certainty.
The result is that the process could be cut by five months from 47 weeks to 26 weeks, according to the government’s recent press release on the topic.
James Brokenshire said that the government will work with the Planning Inspectorate to drive down the time it takes to process appeals after the review by Bridget Rosewell called for it to be speeded up.
The review also concluded that outdated administrative processes and poor IT infrastructure were the reason for the lengthy process. Also, a lack of suitably qualified inspectors was holding up the process. Fixing these problems would improve the time it takes to set up inquiry hearings, according to the review.
Brokenshire believes that speeding up planning decisions can help the Government deliver on its target to build 300,000 homes each year by the mid-2020s. He also said that faster inquiries into contested developments will give house builders and local communities more certainty on when decisions will be made.
Meanwhile, these improvements will also maintain the integrity of the appeals system which needs to keep functioning in order to prevent inappropriate developments.
Independent review welcomed by the government
James Brokenshire said: ‘Planning appeal inquiries have held up development and kept communities waiting in limbo, and 47 weeks on average is far too long to wait for a decision on something so important as a proposal for new development.’
‘The review has produced a fantastic report and provided us with a clear direction of travel on how we can ensure the appeals inquiry process is fit for purpose. Reducing the time it takes to secure crucial decisions ensures the delivery of more homes, in the right places, and help us reach our ambition of 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s,’ Brokenshire added.
An extensive review
Overall, the report made 22 recommendations, ranging from committing the Planning Inspectorate to introducing a new online portal for the submission of inquiry appeals to set out a strategy for recruiting additional inspectors. This is so that inquiries can be scheduled much sooner, reducing the overall time they take to be completed
The Planning Inspectorate will now prepare an implementation plan to determine the next steps in delivering the recommendations.
Bridget Rosewell, a commissioner for the national infrastructure commission and chair of Atom Bank, said that she looks forward to seeing the proposals implemented. ‘It’s critical that all parts of the planning system contribute towards the efficient delivery of the homes we need as well as the refusal of those which don’t meet our high standards,’ she explained.
‘My review found, with commitment for all involved, that speeding up inquiries can be achieved through straightforward reforms, shaving months off the current time it takes for inspectors to make a decision,’ Roswell added.
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