New planning application statistics published yesterday covering the period Q1 and Q2 for 2024 / 2025 have shown that despite a 29% increase in the number of major housing applications (for 50+ homes) when compared against the same period in 2023 / 2024, average decision timescales have reduced from 62.1 weeks to 37.7 weeks.

Alongside this, the number of local housing applications for developments of 49 homes or less decided for the periods Q1 and Q2 of 2024/25 has, however, decreased by 9.7%, whilst the average processing timeframe has increased from 17.3 weeks to 18.5 weeks when compared against the same period in 2023 / 2024. The statutory timeframe for these decisions should be eight weeks.

Kevin Murphy, director of planning at HFS, said: “Whilst it is encouraging to see positive movement in both the number of major planning applications submitted and processing periods, decision timeframes still fall far from the statutory 16-week requirement. It is also a great concern that the number of smaller housing applications decided has decreased whilst their processing timeframes have increased, again remaining far higher than the statutory period for processing. This has serious implications for rural and brownfield housing delivery by SMEs.

“Following statistics showing that all sector housing starts and completions have fallen for a third consecutive year, it is clear that the planning system must be supported in both capacity and resource if Scotland is to properly tackle its growing housing emergency and falling land supply.

“The sector urgently requires clear outcomes, delivered at pace from the Planning Hub for Housing that was announced by the Minister for Public Finance over four months ago if we are to see consistent improvements not just in planning decision timeframes, but also in unlocking the estimated 20,000 homes that have been stalled across Scotland.

“Fundamentally, we need to see reform that can provide certainty for home builders, especially SMEs, as they navigate a planning system which the Competition and Markets Authority identified in their market study report as limiting levels of home building due to lack of predictability, length, cost and complexity of the process.”