The comment comes after it published its annual report for 2017/18, which found that all its targets in Wales were met, while there was a continued improvement in England.

•   52,800 homes granted planning in zones 5-6 in last five years
•   Three major developments given go-ahead in one day
•   Planning expert welcomes higher housing targets for outer London

Key points from the report include:

• the need to change and adapt to meet customers, stakeholders and staff expectations
• investing to provide excellent customer service and tackle timeliness in dealing with hearings and inquiries in England
• improved financial performance
• casework performance in Wales exceeded targets
• casework performance in England is improving, but fell short of expectations partly due to an unexpected 13% increase in caseload
• all Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) applications determined within statutory timetables
• an increase in local plan examinations

Sarah Richards, chief executive at the Planning Inspectorate, said it was continuing to change and adapt to improve the time it took to determine appeals and meet its customers’ expectations.

“Changing our processes and IT systems takes time and we must do this without jeopardising our delivery of quality decisions in an open, fair and impartial manner.

“A key foundation of our transformation programme is ensuring our customers receive the service they deserve and to ensure our processes support the government’s objective to build the homes and infrastructure the country needs.”