Provisional planning statistics for the second quarter of 2022/23 are now available. These data provide an overall view of planning activity. Alongside this there is a summary of council performance across the three statutory targets for major development applications, local development applications and enforcement cases as laid out in the Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015, along with other statistics of interest such as application approval rates.

The publication is available on the Department for Infrastructure website.

Key points:

The key points from the Northern Ireland Planning Statistics: Second Quarter 2022/23 Statistical Bulletin are:

• There were 2,663 planning applications received during the second quarter of 2022/23; a decrease of nearly thirteen percent on the previous quarter and down by almost twenty percent on the same period a year earlier. This comprised of 2,627 local and 36 major applications.
• In the second quarter of 2022/23, 2,831 planning applications were decided upon; down by over ten percent from the previous quarter and down by more than thirteen percent from the same period a year earlier. Decisions were issued on 2,792 local and 39 major applications during the most recent quarter.
• The average processing time for local applications brought to a decision or withdrawal during the first six months of 2022/23 was 17.0 weeks across all councils. This exceeds the 15 week target and represents an increase of 1.0 week from the same period a year earlier. Four of the 11 councils were within the 15 week target after the first six months of 2022/23.
• The average processing time for major applications brought to a decision or withdrawal during the first six months of 2022/23 was 50.0 weeks across all councils. This represents a decrease of 6.4 weeks compared with the same period a year earlier but is still considerably higher than the 30 week target.
• Across councils 73.4% of enforcement cases were concluded within 39 weeks during the first six months of 2022/23. This meets the statutory target of 70% and represents an increase from the rate reported for the same period in 2021/22 (72.3%). Seven of the 11 councils were within target after the first six months of 2022/23.
• Planning activity and processing performance during 2020/21 and 2021/22 were impacted by the restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, during January and February of 2022 the Northern Ireland Planning Portal was inaccessible for a period of time. These factors should be borne in mind and caution taken when interpreting figures and when making comparisons with other time periods.