Local councils have been forced to pay out a total of £12m after losing planning appeals since 2010, new figures show.
Cornwall Council paid the highest at £981,332 through six lost appeals – an average cost of £163,555 per loss.
The data, taken from a Freedom of Information request by property consultancy Daniel Watney, found that 178 of the 217 councils that responded had to pay out large sums.
Charles Mills, partner and head of planning at Daniel Watney, said the figures would have been higher if the appeals process was easier.
He said that owing to budget cuts, appeal inspectors are interested only in extreme cases, and they would have to prove that the council acted unreasonably, which does not have a specific test.
“It is an onerous task to demonstrate that a local authority has been unreasonable during the process,” he said.
An investigation by Estates Gazette last month (29 October, p44) found that developers faced a planning lottery when submitting applications, with large differences in resourcing and productivity among councils.
Amounts councils have paid out after losing planning appeals, 2010-2016
Local councils have been forced to pay out a total of £12m after losing planning appeals since 2010, new figures show.
Cornwall Council paid the highest at £981,332 through six lost appeals – an average cost of £163,555 per loss.
The data, taken from a Freedom of Information request by property consultancy Daniel Watney, found that 178 of the 217 councils that responded had to pay out large sums.
Charles Mills, partner and head of planning at Daniel Watney, said the figures would have been higher if the appeals process was easier.
He said that owing to budget cuts, appeal inspectors are interested only in extreme cases, and they would have to prove that the council acted unreasonably, which does not have a specific test.
“It is an onerous task to demonstrate that a local authority has been unreasonable during the process,” he said.
An investigation by Estates Gazette last month (29 October, p44) found that developers faced a planning lottery when submitting applications, with large differences in resourcing and productivity among councils.
Amounts councils have paid out after losing planning appeals, 2010-2016
Council
Highest total paid, 2010-16 (£)
Council
Highest average paid, 2010-16 (£)
Cornwall
981,332
Halton
360,735
Derby City
866,975
Derby City
177,395
Halton
721,470
Cornwall
163,555
Stratford-upon-Avon
557,819
Rugby Borough
110,000
South Gloucestershire
505,544
London Borough of Wandsworth
74,807
Basingstoke and Deane
468,695
Ryedale District
74,750
Horsham District
442,969
Horsham District
63,281
Cambridge City
311,175
South Gloucestershire
56,172
Solihull
306,563
Stratford-on-Avon
50,711
Cheshire
260,198
Oxfordshire
48,609
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