We use percentages all the time in planning. It’s in the DNA – percentage compliance with a national indicator is what makes many planners get up in the morning. But they are useless at understanding what is going on.

Take this output from a report I was looking at today, pretending I was from Salford. It’s section 2a – a breakdown of approval rates by category of development.

As you’d expect, most of the approval rates are 90%+, so perhaps you should investigate what’s happening with prior approvals and certificates of lawfulness ? But hold on. Continue reading →