Planning applications increased 11% last month according to Barbour ABI data
A surge in home improvements contributed to a 11% increase in planning applications last month.
A total of 57,314 planning applications were made in May according to Barbour ABI, a 5% increase year-on-year.
The bulk of these applications were for domestic housing improvements and small projects, with the former making up 60% of the total applications, compared to 55% in May 2010.
The number of planning applications for large projects remained virtually unchanged year-on-year with 20,382 projects seeking planning in May 2011.
Adam Valentine, content director at Barbour ABI, said that the recovery in application volumes was driven by homeowners choosing to stay put and develop their own homes rather than move.
He said: 鈥淭he effects of this increase in volumes are even greater when you consider that the changes to permitted development in 2008 effectively removed some home developments from the planning system.鈥�
鈥淎llowing for this adjustment to the figures we鈥檙e seeing pre-recession levels of plans being submitted.鈥�
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