Planning appeals 'getting faster'

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New figures have shown that 80% of planning appeals are now dealt with in 12 weeks or less, compared with just 6% two years ago.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said it was important an answer was given "as soon as possible" to developers appealing against planning decisions.

The figures showed the Scottish government had "acted decisively" on the issue, Mr Swinney added.

CBI Scotland said the improvement was an "encouraging step".

The statistics also showed that the average time to decide a written planning appeal was now 11 weeks, compared with an average of 16 weeks for the past five years.

Under the planning system developers can appeal against local authorities' decisions, and the vast majority of these take the form of written appeals.

Decisions are usually made by a Reporter appointed by Scottish ministers, but in some cases the Reporter makes a recommendation to ministers, who then have the final say.

Mr Swinney said that when cases were appealed against it was "only right that developers are given an answer as soon as possible".

'Key challenge'

He added: "The extraordinary progress we have made in making faster decisions is hugely welcome, and demonstrates the seriousness we attach to government activity on regulation and planning supporting economic development.

"This shows that we are not only listening to but also acting decisively on the concerns of the business community."

CBI Scotland's assistant director David Lonsdale welcomed the figures, which he said were an "encouraging step towards creating a more efficient and cost effective planning system".

He added: "However, performance needs to be enhanced right across the board if we are to see a measurable and lasting improvement in Scotland's planning system.

"Figures published by the Scottish government only last year showed that fewer than half of all major applications are determined within the target four month period, even fewer than before. Almost a fifth of Local Plans were over 15 years old, with almost 40% over 10 years old.

"The key challenge remains, namely that planning authorities must give much greater weight to the needs of the economy when considering planning applications, with a greater presumption in favour of development built into our planning system.

"That is why CBI Scotland has suggested that local authorities should be better incentivised to support economic development."