Planners on a winning streak

Recently published figures from the Government show that Sevenoaks District Council is one of Kent’s most successful authorities when it comes to defending its decisions at planning appeals.

During the period running from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, Sevenoaks District Council won more planning appeals than any other local authority in Kent. In all it won 80 appeals, equivalent to 75% of its total. This is an improvement on the previous year when it won 71% of its appeals.

This compares well with the Kent average of 70% and the national average of 67%.

The figures also show that Sevenoaks District Council defended the second highest number of appeals in Kent dealing with 107, an increase of 27 over the previous year. The Kent average was 58 appeals per authority.

Cllr Gary Williamson, the Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for planning, says: "Despite having to defend more planning appeals than the previous year, the Government's latest figures show that in the vast majority of cases, we are taking the correct decision when rejecting planning applications. We have also increased the number of appeals that we win. Given that we handle twice as many planning appeals compared with the Kent average, this is a significant achievement."

Anyone who has had a planning application refused, not determined within the allocated time or wishes to challenge a condition attached to a permission, can appeal to the Secretary of State via the Planning Inspectorate.

Further details of the appeal process can be found on the Council's website www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/planning on the Planning Inspectorate's website www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk or via the Planning Portal website www.planningportal.gov.uk

Ends

Press release issued: August 24 2006