Planning permission success depends on location

Official figures from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government for the first three months of this year have shown people who live in wealthier parts of London are more likely to be accepted for minor planning applications than those in less wealthy parts. This has led to accusations of a “postcode” lottery on planning applications.

The figures have been analysed by Resi, an online architectural platform and seem to indicate that overall, London residents have a 95% chance of having their planning permission applications approved, however, those in the wealthier boroughs of City of London, Westminster and Richmond were the most likely to have an approval. In Hillingdon, on the outskirts of the capital, just 50% of applications were approved.

When broken down into house prices, those homes valued at more than £1m had an 84% chance of success, while those priced between £400,000 and £500,000 saw a 63% chance.

Alex Depledge and Nick Stockley from Resi have stated that councils seem to be under a great deal of pressure from people seeking to prevent developments in their area and those wealthier councils had the time and resources to make necessary changes to allow planning permissions to go through more easily in an effort to combat this. Other councils, that have fewer resources, are less likely to act on applications quickly, making it harder for the homeowners to go through the process.

Nicky Gavron from London Assembly Planning says that planners are more likely to turn down a poor quality application than negotiate it. Many councils do not have the in-house skills to help owners improve their applications. She also points out that wealthier homeowners can afford to hire their own architects and consultants to ensure success.

The government have stated that councils are making decisions that are best for their areas and that planning permissions approved for the last year were twice that approved in 2010.