§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions since 1974 he has overruled his inspector's advice on planning appeals.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe information requested is available on an annual basis. The table shows the number of occasions on which the Secretary of State made decisions on planning appeals contrary to the inspectors' recommendation, following a public inquiry.
167W
Year Total number of appeals decided Appeals recovered for decision by the Secretary of State Number decided after inquiry Number of decisions contrary to inspectors' recommendation 1974 12,198 1,216 71 1975 11,486 1,397 57 1976 9,253 1,263 52 1977 8,366 953 36 1978 8,952 882 41 1979 8,933 861 17 1980 13,130 845 15 1981 14,451 919 34 1982 12,915 596 20 1983 11,221 370 13 1984 11,643 253 16 1985 14,639 289 23 1986 14,823 383 23 1987 (January to September) 12,614 329 17