Planning submissions falling

[nod]

We have been looking at local planning applications over the past six months 

around 40-50 each week 

Over the past 6 weeks we’ve noticed Applications drop to around a dozen each week 

We wondered if this was a local trend or have others noticed this 

Or is it simply the backlog catching up 

or Something more sinister like high labour and sky high material prices 

 

 

[MikeSharp01]

Its a systems thing - you squeeze it in one place and it pops out in another. People have gone from thinking now is a good time to start to  thinking that now is not a good time to start, probably loads of reasons. Materials shortages, sky high labour costs, spent the money we saved in lockdown, this new normal way of working from a remodeled home is perhaps not all it could be, 'what they want me to back to the office' - what's the point of remodeling, too much hassle. Upsides are: the planners have more time to look at and process applications, the sky high prices will drop as less work about, the material shortage will go away as less demand, oh and commuting was not so bad after all. So relax just put your application in and keep on keeping on.

[Ferdinand]

What are you counting?

 

There were stories last summer too, but perhaps a little earlier.

https://www.theplanner.co.uk/news/districts-report-sharp-fall-in-planning-applications

 

Also possibly linked to 

 

1 - Widening of scope of PD. In the commercial sector, this has been a radical widening with broader Use Classes. Has saved my gym a COU planning application (at least the Council have not whinged yet, and we discussed it with them when the Use Class changes were being dragged through the Courts ).

2 - Start of the school year.

3 - I think there have been modest expansions in PD rights for householders.

 

Planning app. stats.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-planning-application-statistics

 

F

[MikeSharp01]

11 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

Planning app. stats.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-planning-application-statistics

Some of those stats make interesting reading... over the last 10 years or so the number of residential applications granted has been roughly constant at 75% (ish) it gives the impression of a target. That means 25% or so have not! Similarly the agreed time limit stats which show around 87-88% being done inside the time limit reliably across the last 6 years (Stats prior to that look odd - so assume that the planning portal implementation may have glitched it or some such). Again 12% get delayed. Given the both stats are broadly flat over the period the implication might be that there is no pressure to improve either and so the local planners may have unconscious approaches to maintaining them. So although you expect your application to be granted and in the required time they know that there are some that won't be and there is no pressure on those that are not so long as 75% are granted and 87% are done on time. 

[Ferdinand]

1 minute ago, MikeSharp01 said:

Some of those stats make interesting reading... over the last 10 years or so the number of residential applications granted has been roughly constant at 75% (ish) it gives the impression of a target. That means 25% or so have not! Similarly the agreed time limit stats which show around 87-88% being done inside the time limit reliably across the last 6 years (Stats prior to that look odd - so assume that the planning portal implementation may have glitched it or some such). Again 12% get delayed. Given the both stats are broadly flat over the period the implication might be that there is no pressure to improve either and so the local planners may have unconscious approaches to maintaining them. So although you expect your application to be granted and in the required time they know that there are some that won't be and there is no pressure on those that are not so long as 75% are granted and 87% are done on time. 

 

I think I might link that to the level of resource Councils think they need to meet expectation, and that yes there probably is an expectation.

 

Also interesting is a modest fall in qty of applications.

 

[nod]

I think what we noticed when we finally got our plot (plots) purchase over the line 

There were far more single plots going through than last time 
Perhaps the lockdown made people reevaluate there lives

It just seems strange that while the housing market shows little sign of slowing Planning apps have fallen away 

[Deejay_2]

As we hope to submit an application soon, I always look at new weekly applications on the local Planning Portal to see what's going on around where I live.  The number of applications a few months ago were around 65, over the summer this number dropped to around 32-35, this week there are 3.   Definitely a downward trend in numbers at the moment, although I'm sure the 3 example will just be a blip.

[Lorenz]

I saw a lot of building activity earlier in the year. I can't think of any at the moment or in the last few weeks. Local to me are still trying to sell some of the new builds on a 17 property site and several old places still for sale, does not seem to be any demand for 2 bed properties in my area.