There are currently 50 live local plan examinations in progress, according to the latest performance update from the The Planning Inspectorate.

Its March 2023 bulletin also reveals that it is making progress on clearing more of its appeal cases.

February was the third month in a row where it closed more appeal cases than it received – closing 1,781 cases and receiving 1,540 new ones.

At the end of February it had 14,062 open cases, which is the fewest since August 2022.

The latest update also reveals that between November 2022 and February 2023, it made 584 decisions in cases dealt with by hearing or inquiry – which is 58% up on the same period on the previous year.

In terms of timescales, the median decision time for cases decided in February 2023 was 29 weeks.

It is encouraging to see progress being made and – and we hope that this can continue so a much-needed, faster turnaround of cases can be achieved.

Please contact us for more details about the planning appeal process and how we can help.