§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the average time taken by his Department to decide planning applications which it has called in;. [9507]
490W(2) what targets he has set on the length of time taken to determine planning applications which have been called in by his Department;. [9508]
(3) how many planning applications have been called in by his Department in each of the last five years. [9506]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordThe number of planning applications which have been called in from English local planning authorities over the past five years have been:
- 1990–91: 132
- 1991–92: 140
- 1992–93: 101
- 1993–94: 99
- 1994–95: 167
These called-in cases should be seen in the context of nearly half a million planning applications made each year.
The Secretary of State does not set overall targets for the determination of called-in applications. These cases are normally discussed at a public inquiry, whose length will depend upon the complexity of the issues and the amount of public interest generated; but the Department does aim to determine 80 per cent. of called-in planning applications within 13 weeks of receipt of the inspector's report and to have determined all cases within 20 weeks of receipt of the report.
There is no centrally available information on the average length of time taken to determine all called-in planning applications.