A Freedom of Information (FOI) exercise undertaken by the Home Builders Federation has found that more than £50 million of taxpayer money was spent on external legal advice on planning appeals over the past three years. The money comprises spending by individual councils and by the Planning Inspectorate, an executive agency of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities responsible for dealing with appeals. The results obtained through a survey using FOI requests also reveal that 50% of appeals involving dwellings over the three years were approved by the Planning Inspectorate. The news comes amidst a steep drop in housing supply and a crisis in planning for new homes that has seen: The new data finds that each local council spent an average of £45,000 per year on legal advice relating to planning appeals between 2020/21 and 2022/23, amounting to a national total of £15 million a year.
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