Provisional planning statistics for the third quarter of 2021/22 are now available.

These data provide an overall view of planning activity.  Alongside this there is a summary of council performance across the three statutory targets for major development applications, local development applications and enforcement cases as laid out in the Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015.

The publication is available on the Department for Infrastructure website.

KEY POINTS

The key points from the Northern Ireland Planning Statistics: Third Quarter 2021/22 Statistical Bulletin are:

• Planning activity and processing performance in 2020/21 and the first three quarters of 2021/22 were impacted by the restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. This should be borne in mind and caution should be taken when interpreting these figures and when making comparisons with other time periods.
• There were 3,163 planning applications received during the third quarter of 2021/22; a decrease of nearly five percent on the previous quarter and down by nearly twelve percent on the same period a year earlier. This comprised 3,132 local, 30 major and one regionally significant application.
• In the third quarter of 2021/22, 3,238 planning applications were decided upon; down by nearly one percent from the previous quarter but up by over eight percent from the same period a year earlier. Decisions were issued on 3,206 local and 32 major applications during the most recent quarter.
• The average processing time for local applications brought to a decision or withdrawal during the first nine months of 2021/22 was 16.8 weeks across all councils. This exceeds the 15 week target and represents a decrease of 1.0 week from the same period a year earlier. Three of the 11 councils were within the 15 week target after the first nine months of 2021/22.
• The average processing time for major applications brought to a decision or withdrawal during the first nine months of 2021/22 was 55.9 weeks across all councils. This represents a decrease of 5.9 weeks compared with the same period a year earlier but is still considerably higher than the 30 week target.
• Across councils over 70% of enforcement cases were concluded within 39 weeks during the first nine months of 2021/22. This meets the statutory target of 70% and represents an increase from the rate reported for the same period in 2020/21 (69%). Individually, eight of the 11 councils were within target after the first nine months of 2021/22.