Appendix A
Statistics On Workload And Performance Against Targets
Table 1: Volume Of Cases* Handled By DPEA
| Business year |
In hand at start of the year |
Received |
Delegated appeals decided |
Reports submitted |
Withdrawn |
In hand at end of the year |
| 2024 to 2025 |
202 |
1002 |
911 |
46 |
37 |
210 |
| 2023 to 2024 |
212 |
613 |
498 |
69 |
57 |
201 |
| 2022 to 2023 |
209 |
625 |
502 |
58 |
62 |
212 |
| 2021 to 2022 |
199 |
577 |
468 |
53 |
46 |
209 |
| 2020 to 2021 |
191 |
438 |
365 |
37 |
28 |
199 |
*Includes appeal and non-appeal cases
The total number of cases sisted/suspended as of 31 March 2025 was 54.
Table 2: Types Of Cases Received
| Type Of Case |
2020 2021 |
2021 2022 |
2022 2023 |
2023 2024 |
2024 2025 |
| Certificate of Lawful Use & Development Appeal |
0 |
1 |
5 |
39 |
415 |
| Planning permission appeals |
229 |
258 |
245 |
230 |
226 |
| Planning enforcement appeals |
37 |
76 |
82 |
109 |
171 |
| Conservation area consent, listed building consent and listed building enforcement appeals |
48 |
51 |
56 |
65 |
55 |
| Advertisement consent, discontinuance notice and advertisement enforcement appeals |
33 |
23 |
43 |
39 |
38 |
| High Hedge appeal |
8 |
20 |
16 |
18 |
9 |
| All other types of appeal |
46 |
65 |
56 |
49 |
53 |
| Subtotal: all types of appeals |
401 |
494 |
503 |
549 |
967 |
| Called-in application |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Compulsory Purchase Order |
5 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
| Core Paths Plan |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Discontinuance Order |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Flood Prevention Scheme |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Listed Building Notified Application |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Local Development Plan |
4 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| Notification Direction |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Notified application |
6 |
8 |
13 |
10 |
3 |
| Power Station |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Public path creation/diversion/extinguishment order |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Purchase Notice |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| Revocation order |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Roads order |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Section 36 Wind Farm |
8 |
5 |
9 |
3 |
10 |
| Section 37 Transmission line |
0 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Stopping up order |
1 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Strategic Development Plan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Traffic Regulation Order |
0 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
| Wayleave |
8 |
44 |
85 |
28 |
12 |
| Called-in application |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Subtotal: all types of non-appeal cases |
37 |
83 |
122 |
64 |
35 |
| All Cases Received |
438 |
577 |
625 |
613 |
1002 |
Table 3: Breakdown Of Cases Received By Their Characteristics
| Characteristics |
2019 2020 |
2020 2021 |
2022 2023 |
2023 2024 |
2024 2025 |
| Advertisement |
33 |
24 |
46 |
41 |
38 |
| Agricultural |
9 |
7 |
12 |
6 |
11 |
| Animal (cattery, kennel, stable etc.) |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
| Battery Storage |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
| Building Alterations (householder) |
72 |
72 |
64 |
71 |
64 |
| Building Alterations (non-householder) |
12 |
20 |
17 |
24 |
23 |
| Business |
22 |
9 |
23 |
10 |
12 |
| Car park |
12 |
17 |
17 |
12 |
11 |
| Caravan and Campsites |
4 |
13 |
16 |
17 |
53 |
| Cemetery/Religious Building |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Chimney/Flue |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Community Asset Transfer |
3 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
| Compulsory Purchase Order |
4 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
2 |
| Demolition |
13 |
13 |
23 |
19 |
17 |
| Designation of Building/Monument |
2 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
| Development Plan (Local) |
4 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
| Dock/Harbour |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Environmental Appeal |
4 |
7 |
7 |
12 |
213 |
| Fencing/Wall |
20 |
31 |
16 |
16 |
20 |
| Fish Farm |
1 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
212 |
| Flood Prevention Scheme |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Gatecheck |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| Hazardous Substance |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Hedge |
8 |
20 |
15 |
18 |
9 |
| Holiday/Leisure |
10 |
22 |
8 |
8 |
48 |
| Hospital/Medical Centre |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Hot Food Takeaway |
5 |
9 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
| Hotels |
20 |
23 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
| House in Multiple Occupation |
1 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
| Housing (10 or more houses) |
47 |
55 |
38 |
26 |
25 |
| Housing (more than one house) |
21 |
22 |
24 |
28 |
17 |
| Housing (single dwelling) |
47 |
43 |
65 |
40 |
33 |
| Hydro/Solar Power |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
| Industrial |
1 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
| Landscaping |
15 |
37 |
38 |
15 |
34 |
| Leisure Facility/Ground |
7 |
10 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
| Meteorological/Anemometrical Mast |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Mineral Extraction |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
| Nursing/Care/Retirement Home |
3 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
4 |
21 |
13 |
27 |
8 |
| Path |
5 |
8 |
1 |
7 |
9 |
| Petrol Station |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Power Station/Energy from Waste |
0 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
| Recycling |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Restaurant/Cafe/Licensed Premises |
13 |
9 |
12 |
8 |
9 |
| Retail (food) |
13 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
| Retail (non-food) |
9 |
2 |
7 |
5 |
1 |
| Road/Bridge |
14 |
9 |
12 |
13 |
8 |
| Scheduled Monument |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| School/Educational |
4 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
| Shed/Garage |
24 |
27 |
13 |
11 |
11 |
| Short stay accommodation |
0 |
9 |
58 |
156 |
552 |
| Storage (non-warehousing) |
12 |
11 |
7 |
10 |
9 |
| Student Accommodation |
8 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
10 |
| Substation/Transmission Line/Pipeline |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Telecommunication |
15 |
13 |
12 |
8 |
18 |
| Traffic Regulation Order |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
| Transport |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Travelling Persons Site |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Tree |
4 |
22 |
11 |
8 |
8 |
| Warehouse/Distribution |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
| Waste Disposal |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
| Water/Sewage |
8 |
8 |
10 |
35 |
25 |
| Wayleave |
8 |
44 |
84 |
28 |
10 |
| Wind Farm (two or more turbines) |
23 |
24 |
16 |
10 |
16 |
| Wind turbine (single) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Windows - Timber |
1 |
7 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
| Windows - UPVC |
6 |
12 |
15 |
13 |
11 |
Table 4a: Appeal Cases Success Rates By Method Of Determination
| Delegate appeals |
Number decided |
Considered by oral process |
Considered by site visit/review of written submissions |
All cases allowed |
| Total |
Allowed |
Percentage |
Total |
Allowed |
Percentage |
Allowed |
Percentage |
| Planning permission |
152 |
1 |
1 |
100% |
151 |
74 |
49% |
75 |
49% |
| Planning enforcement |
111 |
0 |
0 |
0% |
111 |
31 |
28% |
31 |
28% |
| Conservation area consent, listed building consent and listed building enforcement |
55 |
0 |
0 |
0% |
55 |
16 |
29% |
16 |
29% |
| Advertisement consent, discontinuance notice and advertisement enforcement |
31 |
0 |
0 |
0% |
31 |
16 |
52% |
16 |
52% |
| High Hedge appeal |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0% |
13 |
10 |
77% |
10 |
77% |
| All others |
423 |
1 |
0 |
0% |
422 |
37 |
9% |
37 |
9% |
| All Delegated Appeals |
785 |
2 |
1 |
50% |
783 |
184 |
23% |
185 |
24% |
| Non-delegated Appeals |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0% |
0 |
0 |
0% |
0 |
0% |
| All Appeals |
787 |
4 |
1 |
25% |
783 |
184 |
23% |
185 |
24% |
*In addition, a further 126 appeals were turned away as we had no powers to determine them
Table 4b: Non-Appeal Cases Success Rates by Method Of Determination
| Case types |
Number decided |
Considered by oral process |
Considered by site visit/review of written submissions |
All cases allowed |
| Total |
Allowed |
Percentage |
Total |
Allowed |
Percentage |
Allowed |
Percentage |
| Called-in application |
1 |
1 |
1 |
100% |
0 |
0 |
0% |
1 |
100% |
| Compulsory Purchase Order |
4 |
4 |
4 |
100% |
0 |
0 |
0% |
4 |
100% |
| Notification Direction |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0% |
1 |
1 |
100% |
1 |
100% |
| Notified application |
11 |
2 |
2 |
100% |
9 |
5 |
56% |
7 |
64% |
| Power Station |
1 |
1 |
1 |
100% |
0 |
0 |
0% |
1 |
100% |
| Section 36 Wind Farm |
5 |
5 |
4 |
80% |
0 |
0 |
0% |
4 |
80% |
| Section 37 Transmission line |
6 |
6 |
6 |
100% |
0 |
0 |
0% |
6 |
100% |
| Stopping up order |
4 |
2 |
2 |
100% |
2 |
2 |
100% |
4 |
100% |
| Wayleave |
5 |
3 |
3 |
100% |
2 |
2 |
100% |
5 |
100% |
| Total: All Non-appeal Cases |
38 |
24 |
23 |
96% |
14 |
10 |
71% |
33 |
87% |
Table 5: Success Rates for Delegated Appeals by Planning Authority
| Planning authority |
Appeals decided |
Appeals allowed |
Success rate |
| Aberdeen City Council |
14 |
7 |
50% |
| Aberdeenshire Council |
12 |
7 |
58% |
| Angus Council |
6 |
1 |
17% |
| Argyll and Bute Council |
9 |
3 |
33% |
| Cairngorms National Park Authority |
2 |
0 |
0% |
| City of Edinburgh Council |
336 |
61 |
18% |
| Clackmannanshire Council |
3 |
3 |
100% |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) |
2 |
0 |
0% |
| Dumfries and Galloway Council |
8 |
5 |
63% |
| Dundee City Council |
7 |
3 |
43% |
| East Ayrshire Council |
3 |
0 |
0% |
| East Dunbartonshire Council |
3 |
3 |
100% |
| East Lothian Council |
45 |
6 |
13% |
| East Renfrewshire Council |
3 |
1 |
33% |
| Falkirk Council |
5 |
2 |
40% |
| Fife Council |
13 |
6 |
46% |
| Glasgow City Council |
182 |
22 |
12% |
| Highland Council |
15 |
10 |
67% |
| Historic Environment Scotland |
1 |
0 |
0% |
| Inverclyde Council |
1 |
1 |
100% |
| Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority |
1 |
1 |
100% |
| Midlothian Council |
3 |
2 |
67% |
| Moray Council |
1 |
1 |
100% |
| North Lanarkshire Council |
5 |
1 |
20% |
| Orkney Islands Council |
7 |
1 |
14% |
| Perth and Kinross Council |
32 |
19 |
59% |
| Renfrewshire Council |
2 |
0 |
0% |
| Scottish Borders Council |
11 |
5 |
45% |
| Scottish Forestry |
1 |
1 |
100% |
| South Ayrshire Council |
5 |
1 |
20% |
| Planning authority |
Appeals decided |
Appeals allowed |
Success rate |
| South Lanarkshire Council |
12 |
3 |
25% |
| Stirling Council |
11 |
2 |
18% |
| West Dunbartonshire Council |
1 |
0 |
0% |
| West Lothian Council |
23 |
7 |
30% |
| Total |
785 |
185 |
24% |
Note: if an authority is not listed in table 5 it means no delegated decisions have been issued for sites within said authority’s area within the period.
Table 6a: Gatecheck Examinations Completed
| Gatecheck Examination |
Number of reporters |
Weeks to complete |
| Glasgow City Council City Development Plan 2 - Evidence Report Gate Check - Re-Submission |
1 |
5.2 |
| Dumfries And Galloway Council Local Development Plan 3 - Evidence Report Gate Check. |
1 |
10.5 |
| East Lothian Council Local Development Plan 2 - Evidence Report For Gatecheck |
1 |
12 |
| Falkirk Local Development Plan 3 (Ldp3) - Evidence Report Submission For Gate Check |
1 |
12 |
| East Lothian Council Local Development Plan 2 - Evidence Report For Gatecheck |
1 |
3.1 |
| East Renfrewshire Local Development Plan 3 - Evidence Report Gate Check |
1 |
12.1 |
| Midlothian Council Local Development Plan 2 - Evidence Report Gate Check |
1 |
11.6 |
| Glasgow City Council City Development Plan 2 - Evidence Report Gate Check |
1 |
12 |
| Moray Council Local Development Plan 2027 - Evidence Report Gate Check |
1 |
13.5 |
| Fife Council Local Development Plan 2 - Evidence Report Gate Check |
1 |
11 |
Table 6b: Gatecheck Examinations in Hand or Completed After End Of March
| Gatecheck Examination |
Received |
| Stirling Local Development Plan 3 - Evidence Report For Gate Check Examination |
28/03/2025 |
| Perth And Kinross Local Development Plan 3 – Evidence Report – Gate Check Request |
27/03/2025 |
Table 7: Performance Against Our Targets
| Procedure |
Target number of weeks to determine |
Number of appeals |
Performance against target |
Average weeks taken to determine |
| Written Submissions |
12 |
688 |
93.06% |
11.6 |
| Further Written Submission |
20 |
96 |
72.92% |
23.3 |
| Hearing |
40 |
2 |
50% |
41.1 |
| Inquiry |
50 |
0 |
n/a |
n/a |
Table 8: Time Taken to Submit Reports
| Case types |
Reports submitted |
Average weeks taken to submit |
| Recalled Planning/Listed Building Appeals |
3 |
29.5 |
| Called-in & Notified Applications |
10 |
30.7 |
| Compulsory Purchase Orders |
7 |
36.3 |
| Other Orders |
9 |
25.3 |
| Section 36 Wind Farm Applications |
8 |
57.9 |
| Wayleave Applications |
9 |
25.5 |
Table 9 Planning Authorities’ Performance In Their Submission Of Completed PARFS
| Planning authority |
PARFs received in year |
Returned within 21 days |
% Returned within 21 days |
Average days to submit |
| Aberdeen City Council |
12 |
9 |
75% |
22.0 |
| Aberdeenshire Council |
11 |
7 |
64% |
23.7 |
| Angus Council |
5 |
3 |
60% |
17.8 |
| Argyll and Bute Council |
10 |
6 |
60% |
28.5 |
| Cairngorms National Park Authority |
1 |
0 |
0% |
28.0 |
| City of Edinburgh Council |
344 |
285 |
83% |
16.2 |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) |
3 |
3 |
100% |
17.7 |
| Dumfries and Galloway Council |
5 |
1 |
20% |
28.2 |
| Dundee City Council |
9 |
7 |
78% |
16.9 |
| East Ayrshire Council |
4 |
2 |
50% |
22.3 |
| East Dunbartonshire Council |
3 |
0 |
0% |
26.3 |
| East Lothian Council |
39 |
36 |
92% |
11.2 |
| East Renfrewshire Council |
5 |
2 |
40% |
27.6 |
| Falkirk Council |
5 |
3 |
60% |
20.2 |
| Fife Council |
13 |
8 |
62% |
24.2 |
| Glasgow City Council |
177 |
104 |
59% |
23.6 |
| Highland Council |
25 |
14 |
56% |
21.5 |
| Historic Environment Scotland |
2 |
2 |
100% |
21.0 |
| Inverclyde Council |
4 |
3 |
75% |
21.0 |
| Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority |
2 |
0 |
0% |
30.5 |
| Midlothian Council |
4 |
4 |
100% |
19.5 |
| Moray Council |
3 |
0 |
0% |
34.7 |
| North Ayrshire Council |
1 |
0 |
0% |
25.0 |
| North Lanarkshire Council |
6 |
0 |
0% |
25.7 |
| Orkney Islands Council |
9 |
6 |
67% |
22.3 |
| Perth and Kinross Council |
25 |
19 |
76% |
18.0 |
| Planning authority |
PARFS received in year |
Returned within 21 days |
% Returned within 21 days |
Average days to submit |
| Renfrewshire Council |
5 |
5 |
100% |
18.0 |
| Scottish Borders Council |
9 |
5 |
56% |
24.2 |
| Stirling Council |
6 |
4 |
67% |
20.0 |
| West Dunbartonshire Council |
1 |
1 |
100% |
21.0 |
| Overall |
786 |
562 |
72% |
22.8 |
