In his speech at the RIBA offices, the Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Michael Gove effectively hit out at councils that delay processing planning applications, specifically those that use so-called ‘extension of time agreements’, which he described as “an insistence on delays to slow down the system”. Taking these agreements out of figures in the two years to September 2023, only 9% of councils determined 70% or more of non-major applications within the statutory eight-week period, Gove said (referring to major applications) ‘it’s even worse,’ Gove claimed, with 1% of councils managing to get through at least 60% of applications within the statutory 13-week period.
He said the Department will identify those who are “hiding behind these agreements to mask their dilatoriness“, noting that he plans to consult on banning their use for householder applications, limiting when in the process they can apply and prohibiting repeat extension of time agreements.
Planner Phillippa Gatehouse commented; ‘ the extension of time facility can be a helpful tool for both applicant and the Council where it is genuinely used positively and proactively to move applications through to determination. However, it must not be used in an attempt to mask inefficiency and shortages in LPA staffing.’
