planning statistics

A total of 3,288 planning applications were submitted to councils in Northern Ireland in the second quarter of 2020/2021.

District-level planning authorities granted 83,500 decisions in the fourth quarter of 2019, which is equivalent to 87 per cent of decisions.

District-level planning authorities granted 357,700 decisions in the year ending March 2019 – down 5 per cent on the year ending March 2018, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Councils in Northern Ireland are struggling to handle large planning applications, which are routinely taking nearly twice as long as the statutory 30-week target, according to the latest official figures collated by the Department for Infrastructure.