Online planning system 'being taken up around the country'

Use of local governments' online planning schemes is on the increase as homeowners and builders increasingly turn to the internet, it has been revealed.

Local authorities estimate that one in six of the 650,000 planning applications that are received in England every year will be made online by the end of 2007.

Increasing interest in carrying out home improvements coupled with greater access to high speed broadband internet connections were two of the main reasons for the increase, according to the Government News Network.

"The online planning services of 95 per cent of local planning authorities are rated as 'good' or 'excellent'. Despite the advantages, some planning agents and members of the public are still unaware of the services on offer and are not yet taking them up," advised local government minister Angela Smith.

Devon and Cornwall authorities alone expect over 4,000 regional applications to be made online between 2004 and 2008.


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