Application numbers in August 2022 were 5% lower than in August 2021. The cummulative fall from January 2022 is a 14% drop.

Staffing shortages and the increase in work lead to some Councils needing private consultancy work to help with planning applications, appeals and enforcement matters, including Carmarthenshire Council. National numbers suggest applications recently peaked, so this may be a trend that doesn't continue

The Government is announcing changes to the planning system that will see the right for local communities to decide and vote for developments in their area, including extensions. But for now, no such system: if you want help in appealing against a refusal or objecting to development, our books can help.

We all remember the fame of Jackie Weaver with the Handforth Parish Council online planning meeting during lockdown. Online meetings became normal and have increased participation, but will they continue? Some Councils are removing them, others keen to carry on: but as this article shows, it comes at a cost to provide the technology.

A recent survey by the Home Builders Federation has shown the number of builders reporting problems with the supply and cost of materials had jumped from 20 per cent a year ago to 78 per cent. Nine out of ten builders also say a lack of resources in planning departments are causing delays.

If you undertake development without planning permission then you have the ability to apply to retain that use/work: commonly called retrospective planning permission. But the Government is hinting at measures to restrict such applications to be 'used only by those who have genuinely made a mistake', a housing department minister has told MPs as part of forthcoming measures to tighten up enforcement rules.