Local Planning Authority Designation in respect of major planning applications under Section 62A of The Town and Country Planning Act 1990

On the 19th December 2023, Chorley Borough Council was advised by the Government that it was being designated in respect of applications for planning permission for major developments (please see footnote 1). A copy of the full designation notice can be viewed on the Government's website.

Every year, the Government assesses the planning performance of all Councils in England in terms of speed of decision making and quality of decision making. The speed and quality of decision making is applied separately to major and non-major development. The Government measures quality by looking at the percentage of applications the Council dealt with within a two year period, which were subsequently granted planning permission on appeal.

The decision to designate the council related to the number of major applications dealt with by the Council between March 2020 and March 2022, which were subsequently granted planning permission on appeal.

The effect of the designation means that applications for major development can continue to be submitted to Chorley Borough Council or submitted directly to the Planning Inspectorate. All other forms of development and other planning related applications continue to be submitted to Chorley Borough Council only.

Footnote 1

Major development comprises:

for housing, development where 10 or more homes will be provided, or the site has an area of 0.5 hectares or more
the provision of a building or buildings where the floor space to be created by the development is 1,000 square metres or more; or
development carried out on a site having an area of 1 hectare or more.

Non-major development is development that does not meet/exceed any of the thresholds above.