The number of houses and apartments granted planning permission in the final quarter of 2007 was up 9% on the previous year, despite the downturn in the property market.

The Central Statistics Office has revealed approval was granted for 17,733 dwelling units, compared with 16,251 units for the same period in 2006, an increase of 9.1%.

Permission was granted for 13,135 houses in the fourth quarter of 2007 and 13,054 in the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of just 0.6%.

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One-off houses accounted for 24% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in this quarter, while total floor area planned was 4,943 thousand sq metres.

Of this, 54.2% was for new dwellings, 32.9% for other new constructions and 12.9% for extensions. The total floor area planned increased by 9.1% in comparison with the same quarter of 2006.

The total number of permissions granted for all developments in the fourth quarter of 2007 was 12,330. This compares to 12,962 in the same period of 2006, a decrease of 4.9%.

Planning Permissions for new buildings for Agriculture decreased to 1,232 this quarter compared to 1,715 permissions in the same quarter of 2006.

(VB/JM)