Government data reveals despite rise in successful planning applications, some areas are lagging behind.
If you’re looking for your next property development project, stop and read this post before spending any money.
Commercial finance brokers Pure Commercial Finance has uncovered government data which reveals the areas in England where you’re least likely to get your planning permission application accepted.
In the year ending 31st March 2017, the least likely place to get a major planning application granted was in Epsom and Ewell where just 38.46% were approved. This was closely followed by Spelthorne and Bournemouth which had 50% and 52.08% success rates respectively.
In terms of small-scale, minor developments, Harrow, Enfield and Newham all saw less than two thirds of applications approved by local planning departments.
On a whole, government statistics reveal planning applications have fallen by a quarter over the last decade, but success rates have risen from 82% to 88%. Therefore, on average, it appears easier to get planning permission than 10 years ago, which raises questions over the low success rates seen in the Surrey district of Epsom and Ewell.
During the same period, there were 18 places in England where 100% of major development planning applications were granted, including the City of London, Wigan and Copeland.
Pure Commercial Finance specialises in financing commercial development projects and has drawn attention to this data as part of its campaign to help investors learn more about the development process. Ben Lloyd, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Pure Commercial Finance, said:
“Commercial property finance is our bread and butter and we help arrange funding for development projects across the country on a daily basis, so we were intrigued to see where these were most likely to get permission and at what rate.
“We are pleased to see a number of planning bodies across the country are keen for the redevelopment and expansion of property on offer in their areas, and are delighted to provide our current and future clients with an insight into this data.
For further insights into the data analysed and to read the full report click here.
