AQW 4184/22-27


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 06/10/2022
Answered On Date: 21/10/2022
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the average length of time taken by his Department to determine the outcome of a major planning application, in each of the last five years.


Answer:
From 1 April 2017 - 30 June 2022, there have been 32 major applications processed by my Department with 29 decisions issued and 3 applications withdrawn. The average processing time for these applications was 187.4 weeks.
The data below from 2017/18 provides information for the last five full years and the first three months of the current year (April-June 2022), showing major planning applications processed to decision by my Department or withdrawn by the applicant.
Year
Approved
Refused
Withdrawn
Average processing time (weeks)2
2017/18
10
2
0
169.0
2018/19
4
1
0
383.2
2019/20
2
0
0
30.3
2020/21
2
0
1
350.4
2021/22
6
0
0
160.8
2022/23 (Apr-Jun 22)1
1
1
2
610.0
Total
25
4
3
187.4
Source: NI Planning Portal
Notes:
1 Quarterly estimates for 2022/23 are provisional and will be subject to revision
2 The time taken to process a decision/withdrawal is deemed valid to the date on which the decision is issued, or the application is withdrawn. The median is used for the average processing time as any extreme values have the potential to inflate the mean, leading to a result that may not be considered as "typical".