Provisional planning statistics for the first quarter of 2023/24 are now available.

These data provide an overall view of planning activity.  Alongside this there is a summary of council performance across two of the statutory targets, for major development applications and local development applications as laid out in the Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015, along with other statistics of interest such as application approval rates.

The publication is available on the Department for Infrastructure website.

Key points

The key points from the Northern Ireland Planning Statistics: First Quarter 2023/24 Statistical Bulletin are:

• There were 2,618 planning applications received during the first quarter of 2023/24; a decrease of almost eight percent on the previous quarter and down by over fourteen percent on the same period a year earlier. This comprised of 2,585 local and 33 major applications.
• In the first quarter of 2023/24, 2,634 planning applications were decided upon; up by over eight percent from the previous quarter but down by nearly seventeen percent from the same period a year earlier. Decisions were issued on 2,598 local and 36 major applications during the most recent quarter.
• The average processing time for local applications brought to a decision or withdrawal during the first three months of 2023/24 was 18.9 weeks across all councils. This exceeds the 15 week target and represents an increase of 2.3 weeks from the same period a year earlier. Three of the 11 councils were within the 15 week target after the first three months of 2023/24.
• The average processing time for major applications brought to a decision or withdrawal during the first three months of 2023/24 was 59.6 weeks across all councils. This represents an increase of 8.2 weeks compared with the same period a year earlier and is almost double the 30 week target.
• The number of enforcement cases concluded and corresponding processing times are not presented in this report. This information will be published later and users will be notified when available.