Planning is eventually being speeded up, says DETR

The Government's efforts to speed up planning decisions and reinvigorate local authority planning procedure are eventually paying off, according to the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. However, there is still a lot of hard work to be done, planning minister, Nick Raynsford said.

The latest checklist, published this week, shows that 38 planning authorities have improved the speed with which they make planning decisions, compared to 28 last year.

While congratulating those that have speeded up decisions, the minister said that "too many local authorities are still failing to approach let alone deliver the Government's target. This must change."

In the year to March, planning authorities made on average 62 per cent of planning decisions within eight weeks - a statistic which is steadily improving. The report on what planning decisions are made in what time frame by who is circulated every six months. Details of the Government's initiative to improve the service is available at http://www.detr.gov.uk