Seventeen London boroughs wasted over £2m in the last five years fighting rejected planning applications that were subsequently approved on appeal, says Coverdale Barclay. 

The communications consultancy found that local authorities across the capital spent at least £2,317,135 in legal fees and costs awarded to appellants of major planning applications between 2018 and 2023. 

However, the actual cost could be significantly higher, after a number of boroughs admitted to not recording total costs incurred fighting planning applications. Others failed to provide responses in an accessible format. 

The planning authority which spent the highest amount, out of the boroughs that responded to the Freedom of Information request, was Ealing. The west London borough spent £506,248 in legal costs between 2018 and December 2023. 

The findings come after Housing Secretary Michael Gove published changes to the National Planning Policy Framework at the end of 2023, including scrapping some penalties for councils that fail to meet new housing targets. 

Campaigners argue the proposals will further empower NIMBY authorities and constituents to block much-needed new housing, resulting in a far higher volume of appeals to the Planning Inspectorate – and a greater cost to the taxpayer.  

Boroughs including the City of London, Bexley, Hackney, Lewisham, Redbridge and Wandsworth either over-turned appeals, or paid nothing in legal costs and awards, over the same period. 

Several boroughs including Croydon, Haringey, Richmond Upon Thames and Southwark, all said they either do not record legal costs and awards to appellants, or did not provide data in an accessible format. 

Ros Barclay, Director at Coverdale Barclay, says: “Under-staffed planning departments mean decisions are taking far too long to progress and, in some cases, culminating in decisions that incur an extra cost to the public purse.  

“These figures demonstrate the importance of effective political and public consultation at every stage of the planning application process, ensuring decisions about plans for much-needed new homes are made efficiently and, ultimately, correctly.”