Liverpool City Council has halved the time it takes to approve Development Applications (DA) and cleared a massive backlog of applications, reducing the number of outstanding DAs by 77% over the last three years.
Liverpool Mayor, Ned Mannoun (pictured), praised the efforts of Council staff for the processing achievement.
“There is still more to be done, we are not at the top of the ladder yet, but I want to pay tribute to the dedicated Council staff who have worked long and hard to speed up the approvals rate and at the same time overcome a massive backlog,” he said.
“In 2023, it was taking an average of 285 days to process DAs. It is now taking and average of 117 – that’s a 58% decrease.
“This is despite being in the top third of similar councils in respect of the number of DAs being lodged, determined and submitted,” he said.
The Mayor said Council staff had also slashed the backlog of “problem” DAs. There are now 213 outstanding long-term DAs in the Council’s system – compared with 773 at the same time in 2023, and 967 in 2022.
“That this has happened at a time of massive growth is testament to the way the Council staff have tackled a major and embarrassing problem,” said Mayor Mannoun.
“Council has a legal responsibility under planning legislation to make sure all developments comply with the relative codes. In most cases, when applications are either non-compliant, incomplete or don’t provide all the necessary information or documentation, it can drag out the application process.
“Our planning team has increased in size and a lot of work has been done to streamline the process and to make sure applications are assessment ready.
“Our staff are on hand to talk applicants through the process and give advice designed to speed up and improve the decision-making time.
“If an applicant is wanting to vary the controls, make sure it is backed up with well-founded reasons that pass the test of merit, rather than seeking to simply contravene the controls for financial reasons.
“We have all seen in the media what happens when developers cut corners and homeowners are left with broken dreams.
“Liverpool Council wants to avoid this happening to its residents and ratepayers and sometimes it takes time to make sure they get the housing they want and need,” he said.
Charting the change:
The DA turnaround time at Liverpool Council has greatly improved over the last two years.
Liverpool Council has cleared a massive backlog of outstanding DAs over the last three years.
