New figures have revealed decision times on planning applications have decreased by 17% compared to the previous year.

The average decision time for major developments in 2015/16 was 30.5 weeks, six weeks quicker than the previous year, while local developments were approved 9.8 weeks faster.

In addition, decision times for major housing developments are now almost two weeks faster than in 2013-14, while local housing application times have went down by almost a week.

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The figures were welcomed by Planning Minister Kevin Stewart, who said the results "form a strong base from which to move forward with planning reform".

"Effective planning is crucial to promoting sustainable economic growth and ultimately to helping build more homes. Speeding up the planning system is a vital part of this," he said.

"These statistics are very encouraging, particularly at a time where we are looking at the best ways to reform and improve our planning system. The reduction in decision making timescales can only be a good thing – it means we are open for business and helping create certainty within the building sector.

"It is clear many authorities have worked hard to achieve these improvements and these results form a strong base from which to move forward with planning reform."

(LM/CD)