Publication of Annual Development Management Statistical Bulletin for 2009/10

The Annual Development Management Statistical Bulletin for Northern Ireland, containing statistics on planning applications received and processed for the period April 2009 to March 2010, is now available.

The statistical bulletin contains statistics on a variety of performance indicators for the Planning Service related to the processing of planning applications and issuing decisions on planning applications.

The key points to note in the bulletin are:

1. Applications received

• In 2009/10, Planning Service received 19,557 planning applications. This represents a decrease of 4.5% compared with the previous year. The Local Government District (LGD) with the greatest increase in the number of applications received when compared with 2008/09 was Newry and Mourne which rose by 91 applications from 1,448 to 1,539, an increase of 6.3%. The LGD with the greatest reduction in applications received when compared with the previous year was Belfast, which fell by 429 applications from 2,080 to 1,651, a decrease of a fifth (20.6%).

2. Applications decided

• Planning Service issued decisions on 20,223 applications in 2009/10, 17.9% fewer than last year (24,637).
• The number of decisions issued for outline planning applications increased by 577 from 1,326 to 1,903 when compare with 2008/09, representing a 43.5% increase.
• The number of decisions issued for full planning applications decreased by 2,575 when compared with the previous year, falling from 17,767 to 15,192, a decrease of 14.5%.
• The number of decisions issued for applications for approval of reserved matters fell by 1,990 when compared with the previous year, falling from 3,781 to 1,791, a decrease of 52.6%.

3. Applications approved

• Overall, 94% of all applications decided in 2009/10 were approved. Approval rates varied across Local Government Districts, from 90.2% in Castlereagh LGD, to 98% in Magherafelt LGD.

4. Applications received for residential development

• Planning Service received 5,831 planning applications for residential development in urban areas in 2009/10 compared with 7,403 in 2008/09, a decrease of just over a fifth (21.2%).
• Planning Service received 8,719 planning applications for residential development in rural areas in 2009/10 compared with 7,591 in 2008/09, an increase of 14.9%.

5. Applications decided for residential development

• The number of decisions issued for residential development in urban areas fell by a quarter (25.8%), from 9,380 to 6,960, when compared with 2008/09. The number of decisions issued for residential development in rural areas also reduced between the two time periods, with 13.9% (1,308) fewer decisions issued in 2009/10.

6. Performance against key Public Service Agreement (PSA) Targets

• The PSA processing target for Major planning applications (predominantly housing developments, commercial and retail development) is to decide 60% of major applications to decision or withdrawal in 23 weeks. In 2009/10, 48% of major applications were processed in 23 weeks.
• The PSA processing target for Intermediate planning applications (predominantly single houses) is to decide 70% of intermediate applications to decision or withdrawal in 31 weeks. In 2009/10, 81% of intermediate applications were processed in 31 weeks.
• The PSA processing target for Minor planning applications (predominantly alterations and extensions to houses) is to decide 80% of intermediate applications to decision or withdrawal in 18 weeks. In 2009/10, 82% of minor applications were processed in 18 weeks.

7. Performance against 2009/2010 Agency Business Plan Targets

• During 2009/10, Planning Service met all but one of its eight Business Plan Targets.
• 50% of Major planning applications were decided or withdrawn in 24 weeks (the 23 week target was not met).
• 70% of Intermediate planning applications were decided or withdrawn in 23 weeks (31 weeks target met).
• 75% of Minor planning applications were decided or withdrawn in 17 weeks (18 weeks target met).
• 97% of all applications were validated within 6 days (85% target met).
• 99% of all applications were validated within 10 days (95% target met).
• 92% of decisions were issued within 2 weeks of last Council consultation (75% target met).
• 97% of decisions were issued within 4 weeks of last Council consultation (95% target met).
• 96% of property certificates were issued within 10 days (94% target met).

Notes to editors:

1. This is the latest in a series of Annual Development Management Statistics Bulletin.
2. There are three PSA targets and eight Business Plan targets covered in the report, covering Planning Service performance in relation to the processing of planning applications.
3. The records of all applications from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 were transferred in June 2010 from a live database and inspected for consistency in coding.
4. Hard and electronic copies of the ‘Planning Service Development Management Statistical Bulletin’ are available from Planning Service website and free of charge from: