Publication of Planning Statistics: 2016/17 Annual Statistical Bulletin

Planning statistics for 2016/17 are now available. These data provide an overall view of planning activity across the north of Ireland.

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 at: 

• https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/planning-activity-statistics

The key points from the report are: 

• There were 13,037 planning applications received, an increase of 7% over the previous financial year and the highest number recorded in any year since 2011/12. This comprised 12,893 local, 142 major and two regionally significant development applications.
• In total, 12,957 planning applications were decided, a marked increase of 17% over the previous year. This is still less than half (43%) the peak level of 30,161 decisions recorded in 2005/06 before the economic downturn.  
• The average processing time for major applications was 69 weeks across all councils; up significantly from the 46 weeks reported for the previous year and well over twice the statutory processing time target of 30 weeks. No council met the major processing time target during 2016/17 with processing times increasing over the year in nine of the 11 councils. 
• The number of local planning applications received was 12,893, an increase of just under 7% on last year. Ten of the 11 councils received more local applications compared to the previous year with Belfast City (1,759), Newry, Mourne and Down (1,483) and Mid Ulster (1,392) receiving most. 
• Across councils, it took on average over 16 weeks to process local applications to decision or withdrawal, one week over target but an improvement of just over three weeks on the previous year. The shortest average processing time for local applications was nine weeks in Mid and East Antrim, whilst the longest was 23 weeks in Newry, Mourne and Down, although this was still a sizeable improvement of nearly 12 weeks on their 2015/16 performance. In all, five of the 11 councils achieved the 15 week target.
• The number of enforcement cases opened was 3,423, an increase of 17% on the same period last year. This is the highest number of enforcement cases opened in any year since the start of the reported series in 2009/10 when 3,689 cases were opened.  Across the councils, Antrim and Newtownabbey (440) and Belfast City (417) opened the largest number of cases during the year.     
• Just over four in every five (81%) enforcement cases were concluded within 39 weeks, nearly 11 percentage points above the statutory 70% target and an improvement of over three percentage points on 2015/16 performance. Ten of the 11 councils met the target with a high of 94% concluded within 39 weeks in Antrim and Newtownabbey. Newry, Mourne and Down concluded 56% of cases within the target time.
• The approval rate for all planning applications was 94%, similar to the rate a year earlier.  Approval rates varied across councils in 2016/17 from highs of 98% in Mid Ulster and 97% in Ards and North Down to a low of 88% in Newry, Mourne and Down.
• The 81 renewable energy applications received was by far the lowest annual figure since 2004/05, representing a 75% decrease in received applications compared with a year earlier, the biggest annual drop in the entire series.  At the end of March 2017, there were 141 live renewable energy applications of which nearly three quarters (74%) had been in the planning system for over a year.

Notes to editors: 

1. This is the latest in a regular series of statistical bulletins related to Development Management (Planning) functions in the north of Ireland. The Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 sets out the legislative framework for development management and provides that, from 1 April 2015, councils now largely have responsibility for this planning function. This is the second annual statistical bulletin to report on activity and performance since the transfer of planning functions occurred.  The report last year provided a base year for the reporting of performance related data at council level.  This report has made comparisons from that point, with the focus largely on activity and performance in 2016/17 (1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017).
2. A new classification hierarchy for planning applications came into effect on 1 April 2014 in advance of the transfer of planning functions to local government from 1 April 2015. The development categories are – major and local development applications, processed by councils, and regionally significant development applications processed within the Department. Note that the ‘major development’ category is based on a completely different definition to the previous ‘major’ category so figures relating to this category should not be compared with those from earlier bulletins that is pre-2014/15).
3. There are three legislative performance targets covered in the report related to the processing of local development decisions within an average of 15 weeks; major development decisions within an average of 30 weeks; and processing 70% of enforcement cases to target conclusion within 39 weeks.
4. The final records of all applications from 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017 were transferred in May 2017 from a live database and inspected for consistency in coding before figures were prepared for publication. These annual figures are now regarded as ‘final’ and will not be subject to further scheduled revision.
5. Quarterly data are provided in more detailed accompanying Excel tables together with comparable data from the previous financial year, where possible. The quarterly figures for the 2016/17 year are now final and will not be subject to further scheduled revision.
6. Electronic copies of the Bulletin, associated Excel tables and summary infographic are available free of charge from: https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/planning-activity-statistics
7. Official Statistics:  This is an Official Statistics publication and therefore follows the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.  You can find further information about the Code of Practice at: https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/
8. For further information please contact:

• Tel (public enquiries): 028 9054 0223
• (Text relay prefix 18001)
• E-mail: stats.planning@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk
• Website: https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/planning-activity-statistics

9. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Infrastructure Press Office on 028 9054 0007 or e-mail: press.office@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07623 974 383 and your call will be returned.

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