Out-Law News 2 min. read

Incoming government will need to address PINS appeal backlog, expert says


A planning expert has warned that the next government will need to take immediate action to address a backlog of planning appeals that is now leading to delays of nearly a year in reaching decisions in certain cases.

The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) posted an apology on its website this month, saying that there was "currently a delay of up to 10 weeks to validate planning appeals". According to figures from PINS, the average time taken in 2014 to reach a decision on an appeal that went to inquiry was 38 weeks following validation. The additional delay in validating appeals means it may take 48 weeks or more from the time an appeal is received to its eventual resolution.

Planning expert Rebecca Warren of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said this situation was unacceptable at a time of significant national housing need and was causing uncertainty for developers and local planning authorities.

“Delay in securing an appeal date and ultimately a decision has an adverse effect on all parties," said Warren. "Local authorities need certainty for calculating their five year land supply and ensuring delivery of affordable housing and infrastructure. For developers the costs and impacts of such delays can be significant for a host of reasons. For those many households needing access to new housing, delays in bringing homes to the market only serve to exacerbate the frustrations of a lack of housing options.”

Then planning minister Nick Boles said in November 2012 that PINS would be provided with additional staff to deal with an expected increase in its workload on nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) once the Growth and Infrastructure Act came into force. Additional resources were also promised to deal with community infrastructure levy (CIL) and the examination of local plans. 

However, Warren said the proposed staffing increases had not prevented an increase in the time taken for housing appeals to be resolved. "In previous years a focus was said to be on fast tracking housing appeals to help unblock and reduce delays in the system," said Warren. "This appears no longer to be the case and housing appeals are not getting any special treatment."

"Experience suggests that staffing at PINS is not at a level that can cope with the range of appeal work that PINS is grappling with, and recruitment drives are still ongoing," Warren said. "The pressure to get CIL, local plans and neighbourhood plans hearings through in addition to the increasing numbers of NSIPs, means PINS is struggling to cope with demand. It is frustrating for many involved with appeals that the system is creating a significant delay in access to the right to appeal.”

Warren said the incoming government would need to take action to address the problems following next month's general election, but that developers should anticipate delays when planning future projects. “Whatever colour of government they will need to urgently grapple with the need to speed up the appeal process and increase staffing levels at PINS," said Warren. "Whilst some parties have pledged to restrict appeals and in some cases allow new rights such as a community appeal for decisions going against the local plan, ultimately the role for PINS is unlikely to be dramatically reduced. Developers should plan accordingly when considering promotion of new sites to build in sufficient leeway into their programme to cope with the impacts of these significant delays.”

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