Municipal corporations reported a 71 per cent increase in building applications in 2020, according to data recently released for public consumption.

The information, contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ) 2020 Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica, was tabled in the House of Representatives recently.

“St James registered the most applications for resorts (42.9 per cent),” the survey said.

Residential applications registered a 7.1 per cent increase, with the largest share received by St Catherine (15.2 per cent), while applications for institutional development increased 8.5 per cent, with Clarendon receiving the largest share (18 per cent), the document said.

The Kingston & St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) continued to account for all mixed-use applications received as well as the largest share of commercial applications (21.4 per cent) and industrial applications (64.7 per cent).

Building/planning applications submitted to municipal corporations totalled 5,305 and were in relation to eight of 10 development categories – residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, resort, mixed-use, recreational, and ‘other’.

The survey noted that the lion’s share of the applications continued to be for residential development (89.4 per cent), followed by commercial (six per cent).

For the year 2020, building/planning applications received by municipal corporations were valued at an estimated $204.7 billion.

The estimated value of applications approved was $145.2 billion, while those that were still being processed at the close of the year are valued at approximately $105.2 billion.

As stated in the survey, subdivision applications received had an estimated value of $3.1 billion, while those granted approval were valued at an estimated $792 million.

“Subdivision applications that were still being processed at the close of the year had an estimated value of $10 billion,” the document said.

Meanwhile, a total of 373 subdivision applications were received by municipal corporations in 2020, 29 fewer than the previous year.

“Almost three-quarters of these applications were for subdivisions of nine lots and under, to less than five acres,” the survey said.

As was the case in 2019, the document noted that the largest share of subdivision applications was received by Manchester (17.4 per cent), followed by St Elizabeth (16.4 per cent).

Approval was granted to 204 applications and 847 were still being processed at the close of the year. Of these, 16.1 per cent were within the 90-day time frame for processing. Two applications were refused.