Recent changes in the planning system have done more harm than good, argue Robert Muckle's Donna Swan and Karen Read, associates in the planning unit of the property services group.

Minister for Planning Keith Hill has moved to prevent the imminent collapse of the planning appeals system.

He is reinstating the six-month time limit for appealing against planning authorities which refuse to grant planning permission.

The limit had been reduced to three months in September 2003, but this led to such a backlog of cases that the time taken for a straightforward appeal has risen from three months to more than a year. The Planning Inspectorate, responsible for administering the appeals system, has found itself virtually under siege, struggling to cope with a mountain of new cases.

Previously the Planning Inspectorate enjoyed an enviable reputation for efficiency in the face of a workload which has been increasing year on year.

This has been fuelled in recent times by a sharp rise in the number of householder appeals where local planning authorities have refused householders permission to extend their homes. In the current property market this has become a popular method for householders to achieve more living space instead of moving house.

However, it is not only a greater numbers of appeals that has caused the current problems, but the speed at which the Planning Inspectorate has been expected to process them, arising from the adoption of the three-month appeal deadline.

In more complicated cases requiring a hearing or an inquiry, the earliest that the Planning Inspectorate could allocate a date was over nine months ahead. The upshot of this was that for many developers the option of appealing a planning authority's decision was no longer commercially viable.

The minister has now acknowledged that the impact of the rule change on the Planning Inspectorate was not sufficiently thought through and from January 2005 the time limit will now revert back to six months.

The change will also apply to appeals against non-determination, listed building and conservation area consent applications.

The six-month deadline for appeals applies to all decisions made by local planning authorities since October 2004.

In announcing the change, Keith Hill said: "The change from three to six months will give people more time to negotiate with their local council if their original application is rejected, rather than simply putting in an appeal straight away."

It is hard to say how long it will take for the Planning Inspectorate to get back to normal but to assist with this the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has made available an extra £1m of tax-payers' money to help reduce appeal decision times.

Published: ??/??/2004