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02/10/13 09:10

Planning Performance Statistics

Quarter one statistics from April to June 2013.

Statistics on planning performance in Scotland have been released today by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. These statistics give information on average decision times for planning applications.

The main findings are:

  • The number of planning applications decided by Scotland’s planning authorities in the three-month period from April to June 2013 was 9,829, an increase from 8,241 in the previous quarter. 11,654 applications were received during the period, compared with 10,830 in January - March 2013.
  • This quarter’s analysis focuses on the current planning system, post 3rd August 2009 when substantial changes were made to development management procedures. A few legacy pre-August 2009 cases badly skew results and by separating out these legacy cases this analysis gives a truer reflection of recent planning performance as it focuses on the current development management system. Statistics based on all planning application decisions including pre- 3rd August 2009 legacy cases, are included in the web tables accompanying this release. Post 3rd August 2009 analysis has been used for the following comparisons.
  • The average decision time for the 79 major applications in quarter 1 was 33.2 weeks, lower than the previous quarter (37.2 weeks) and lower than the equivalent quarter in 2012/13 (36.7 weeks). The time taken to make decisions on major applications can vary greatly between local authorities and average figures for major applications based on a small number of applications can be very volatile, and are dependent on the circumstances and complexity of the individual application
  • This quarter, 16 major applications with processing agreements have been excluded from these figures, on the basis that they have been subject to separately agreed timescales between applicants and planning authorities. Of the 16 cases with processing agreements decided during quarter 1, all were decided within the agreed timescales.
  • In quarter 1, 2013/14, the average decision time for local applications (7,855) was 10.5 weeks, a decrease from both the previous quarter (11.9 weeks) and the equivalent quarter in 2012/13 (11.2 weeks). Over the same period the percentage of decisions made in under two months has increased from 68.5% to 74.1%.
  • Included in local and major applications in quarter 1 are 118 planning applications that were subject to consideration and conclusion of planning/legal agreements, which needed to be completed before the decisions could be issued. These applications took on average 56.6 weeks, an increase from both the previous quarter (50.5 weeks) and the equivalent quarter in 2012/13 (54.0 weeks).
  • There were 3,736 householder applications during the first quarter of 2013/14, 87.7% of these were decided within two months with an average overall time of 7.6 weeks. There was an increase in the percentage of householder applications decided within two months when compared to both the previous quarter (85.1%) and the equivalent quarter in 2012/13 (87.0%).
  • In quarter 1 there were 25 major housing applications that took on average 44.4 weeks for a decision to be issued which is lower than both the average decision time for the previous quarter (47.3 weeks) and the equivalent quarter in 2012/13 (51.2 weeks).
  • The 14 major business and industry applications in quarter 1 took on average 37.4 weeks for a decision to be issued, an increase compared to both the previous quarter (24.2 weeks) and the equivalent quarter in 2012/13 (15.1 weeks).
  • The overall rate of approvals for all types of application has increased when compared to previous periods. The rate was 94.3% in the period Apr-Jun 2013, an increase from both the previous quarter (92.3%) and the equivalent quarter in 2012/13 (92.7%).

Notes to editors

1. The full statistical publications can be accessed at: Planning Performance Statistics 2013/14 - Quarter 1

2. A new Planning Performance Framework came into effect from April 2012. This gives a more rounded assessment of overall performance and service quality by planning authorities.

3. These statistics replace the previously published Planning Performance Statistics which measured the number of planning applications determined by Scottish Planning Authorities against the statutory timeframes.

4. Reporting for local applications is similar to previous statistics with percentages shown for those applications that are decided within two months. For major applications it has previously been acknowledged that a four month target was not always the best measure of performance. Therefore major applications no longer show percentages for those applications that are decided within four months. The average times taken to make decisions are shown for both local and major applications.

5. Some revisions have been made to previously published “Planning Authority Performance Statistics 2012/13 Annual”. The latest version of these statistics along with details of revisions can be found here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Planning/Publications

6. More information is available at: http:/www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/modernising/cc/ImprovementPlans

7. Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About