Online application numbers in England and Wales

Welcome to July’s issue of the Planning Portal Market Insight Report, where we report on the latest figures for applications submitted online via the Planning Portal.?

There was a total of 52,939 applications submitted through the Planning Portal in July 2023. This is 1% lower than the number of total applications that were submitted in July 2022. For the year to the end of July, applications have been 4.8% lower than in 2022 for the same period. Excluding Works to Protected Trees and Telecoms applications, the total for July is 4% lower than in July 2022.?

The regional view?

We saw that most regions received fewer applications when compared to July last year, other than the North East which saw an increase of 2%. The biggest declines were seen in Wales, which was down by 5% when compared to last year, and in the North West, which was down by 3% when compared to 2022.?

The map depicted below shows the percentage change in applications per region in July 2023 compared with July 2022.?

Applications by type ?

The table below shows how applications by type have risen or fallen, compared with July last year.?

Most application types were lower in volume this month compared to July 2022. Works to Protected Trees continues its growth from last month, at 28%.??

Although the most significant impact on application numbers is still at the minor end of the development spectrum, the difference isn’t as stark as in previous months. The ‘Normal’ trend for Householder and Associated Consents is that they decrease from a high in March and further from May onwards. This year, volumes have reduced from March’s levels but have remained broadly consistent since May.???

Householder and Associated Applications?

There were 14,792 Householder applications submitted in July 2023, compared with 16,912 in July last year. This means that Householder and Associated Consents were down 13% this month when compared to the same month last year.??

Figures for other home improvement project applications include 3,973 Lawful Development Certificates, which is an increase of 3% when compared with last year’s figure of 3,871, as well as 1,184 Larger Home Prior Approvals, compared to 1,356 in July last year. A drop of 13%.?

Full Planning applications ?

There were 10,370 Full Planning applications submitted during July, which is a decline of 2% when compared to last year’s figures of 10,550 in July 2022.??

This July we also saw a total of 386 Outline applications, which is a reduction of 11% when compared to 434 applications in the same month last year.?

Prior Approval: Development by Telecoms Operators?

In July we processed a total of 301 of this specific application type, which is a 12% decrease compared to 434 applications in July 2022. This kind of application is typically project-based rather than seasonal, as can be seen in the graph.?

Planning fees processed for online applications ?

In July, we processed a total of ￡21,524,973 in planning fees on behalf of local authorities. This figure is 13% lower than last July, meaning a reduction of 13% in Local Authority income from planning fees, even though applications requiring processing decreased by only 1%. This is due to a lower average fee value of ￡407 compared to ￡465 in July 2022.??

The Planning Portal has access to online application data exclusively available at the point of submission to Local Planning Authorities. The insights this data provides allows you to gain an early insight of what’s being applied for throughout England and Wales. If you would like to access this data on a more granular level, please email: [email protected]?

To access this data first, subscribe to our mailing list here.?

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