Statistical Report 1999-2000
Planning Appeals: England
Planning appeals form the largest block of our work. The number of appeals received in 1999-2000 was up by 2.7 % on the previous year. The number of decisions issued decreased by 2%. Table 3 gives details of planning appeals received, withdrawn, decided and allowed during the year. At 31 March 2000 we had 5,145 cases in hand.
Table 3: Summary
|
Year |
Received |
Withdrawn |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1997-98 |
14,182 |
2,246 |
13,051 |
4,685 (36) |
|
1998-99 |
14,381 |
2,001 |
12,877 |
4,523 (35) |
|
1999-2000 |
14,772 |
1,795 |
12,619 |
4,573 (36) |
During the year over 99% of appeal decisions were made by Inspectors, with the remainder decided by the Secretary of State. Table 4 shows appeals decided by Inspectors and the Secretary of State and the numbers allowed.
Table 4: Outcome by Secretary of State or Inspectors
|
Year |
Secretary of State cases |
Inspector cases |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
|
|
1997-98 |
125 |
41 (33) |
12,926 |
4,644 (36) |
|
1998-99 |
90 |
32 (36) |
12,787 |
4,491 (35) |
|
1999-2000 |
82 |
26 (32) |
12,537 |
4,547 (36) |
Planning appeals can be determined following an exchange of written representations, an inquiry or a hearing. Chart 1 shows the percentage of appeals decided by the three procedure types with written representation and inquiry appeals split between those determined by Inspectors and the Secretary of State. The figure for hearings includes 8 appeals determined by the Secretary of State.
Chart 1: Percentage decided by procedure type and by Secretary of State or Inspector
Tables 5, 6 and 7 show the number of appeals decided by written representations, inquiries and hearings respectively. They also show a breakdown between those determined by the Secretary of State and Inspectors.
Table 5: Outcome by procedure - written representations
|
Year |
Secretary of State |
Inspector |
Overall |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
|
|
1997-98 |
34 |
13 (38) |
9,888 |
3,389 (34) |
9,922 |
3,402 (34) |
|
1998-99 |
15 |
4 (27) |
9,405 |
3,099 (33) |
9,420 |
3,103 (33) |
|
1999-2000 |
24 |
6 (25) |
9,177 |
3,114 (34) |
9,201 |
3,120 (34) |
Table 6: Outcome by procedure - inquiries
|
Year |
Secretary of State |
Inspector |
Overall |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
|
|
1997-98 |
78 |
23 (30) |
921 |
394 (43) |
999 |
417 (42) |
|
1998-99 |
61 |
25 (41) |
936 |
427 (46) |
997 |
452 (45) |
|
1999-2000 |
50 |
18 (36) |
832 |
419 (50) |
882 |
437 (50) |
Table 7: Outcome by procedure - hearings
|
Year |
Secretary of State |
Inspector |
Overall |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
Decided |
Allowed (%) |
|
|
1997-98 |
13 |
5 (39) |
2,117 |
861 (41) |
2,130 |
866 (41) |
|
1998-99 |
14 |
3 (21) |
2,446 |
965 (39) |
2,460 |
968 (39) |
|
1999-2000 |
8 |
2 (25) |
2,528 |
1,014 (40) |
2,536 |
1,016 (40) |
The Inspectorate's performance against appeals targets is measured as the time taken to determine 80% of appeals. The Ministerial targets for planning appeal work in England were to determine 80% of planning appeals decided by written representation within 18 weeks, hearing cases within 24 weeks and inquiry cases within 36 weeks. Charts 2 and 3 show the 80% handling times by procedure type for both Secretary of State and Inspector cases over the last 5 years.
Chart 2: 80% handling times - Secretary of State cases
Chart 3: 80% handling times - Inspector cases
The planning appeals we receive relate to a wide range of development types. These are listed in table 8.
Table 8: Appeals by Development Type
|
Development Type |
Received |
Decided |
% Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Major dwellings1 |
793 |
434 |
44 |
|
Minor dwellings |
4,164 |
3,700 |
27 |
|
Householder development |
3,594 |
3,258 |
35 |
|
Major manufacturing storage and warehousing2 |
53 |
25 |
80 |
|
Minor manufacturing storage and warehousing |
240 |
214 |
38 |
|
Major offices2 |
31 |
17 |
53 |
|
Minor offices |
101 |
87 |
40 |
|
Major retail2 |
103 |
46 |
39 |
|
Minor retail |
313 |
268 |
47 |
|
Mineral |
22 |
15 |
40 |
|
Other major development2 |
229 |
170 |
49 |
|
Other minor development |
3,104 |
2,678 |
42 |
|
Change of use |
2,013 |
1,707 |
43 |
|
Total |
14,7723 |
12,619 |
36 |
|
1 |
number of dwellings proposed was 10 or more or the site area was 0.5 hectares or more |
|
2 |
where the gross floor space was 1,000 square metres or more or the site area was 1 hectare or more |
|
3 |
includes 12 appeals with development type not recorded yet |
Table 9 relates these to categories of land use.
Table 9: Appeals by Land Use
|
Land use |
Received |
Decided |
% Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Agriculture, fisheries and forestry |
356 |
326 |
37 |
|
Community, education and defence services |
330 |
308 |
48 |
|
Offices |
370 |
311 |
43 |
|
Housing and residential development |
10,081 |
9,103 |
33 |
|
Leisure and recreation |
299 |
260 |
49 |
|
Mineral extraction |
22 |
24 |
50 |
|
Industry |
301 |
247 |
47 |
|
Shopping |
1,436 |
1,300 |
46 |
|
Transport and utilities |
527 |
467 |
48 |
|
Wholesale and storage |
272 |
248 |
40 |
|
Land use classification not yet recorded |
778 |
25 |
60 |
|
Total |
14,772 |
12,619 |
36 |
