Councils waste millions fighting planning appeals – claim

Councils waste millions fighting planning appeals – claim


Todays other news
Rachel Reeves's first Budget will increase inflation by up to...
Another council is expected to propose selective licensing with landlords...
The average rent arrears claim climbed to £2,064 in Q3...
The Housing Secretary has suggested she wants to stop new...
verage UK house prices nudged up 0.2% in October says...


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.” 

Share this article ...

Join the conversation: Login and have your say

Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions. If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
7 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Recommended for you
Related Articles
Capital Letters has taken over management of 18 homes seized...
London’s Westminster council is launching a consultation on yet another...
A property management firm says the dramatic slump in overseas...
Council will pay part of tenants’ rent to private landlords...
A landlord who persistently failed to license several rented properties...
A mortgage chief is warning that thousands of buy to...
Recommended for you
Latest Features
Britain’s 12 million renters won’t be forgotten by Labour -...
Some 20% of households are now made up of people...
Energy Performance Certificate ratings are used to measure how energy...
Sponsored Content
Landlords, if you haven't heard of it until now, it's...
As a seasoned landlord, you've likely witnessed the UK property...

Send to a friend

In order to send this article to a friend you must first login. Click on the button below to login or sign up.

No one likes pop-ups ...
But while you're here