League table · official statistics

Planning approvals: every English council ranked

Approval rate, share of decisions made on time, and volume for every local planning authority — straight from the council returns MHCLG publishes. No modelling, no estimates.

National approval rate

87.1%

Decided on time

90.4%

Approval rate Decided on time Most decisions

MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), release 202603 · 2025 Q2 – 2026 Q1. “Decided on time” = within the statutory period or an agreed extension. Councils we scrape live link through to their coverage page.

#	Council	Region	Decisions	Approval	On time
1	Fareham	South East	583	97.6%	98.8%
2	North Kesteven	East Midlands	631	97.0%	97.9%
3	City of London	London	460	97.0%	95.9%
4	Cheltenham	South West	927	96.8%	94.3%
5	North Tyneside	North East	616	96.8%	99.2%
6	Ebbsfleet Development Corporation	South East	30	96.7%	96.7%
7	The Broads Authority	National Parks	116	96.5%	97.4%
8	Fylde	North West	422	96.2%	97.4%
9	Redcar and Cleveland	North East	418	96.2%	85.2%
10	Bolsover	East Midlands	286	96.2%	99.7%
11	Amber Valley	East Midlands	657	96.0%	98.9%
12	Exmoor National Park	National Parks	174	96.0%	98.9%
13	Cumberland	North West	1,169	95.8%	66.0%
14	Norwich	East of England	538	95.7%	86.4%
15	Stevenage	East of England	253	95.7%	91.3%
16	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	519	95.6%	100.0%
17	North York Moors National Park	National Parks	427	95.5%	83.6%
18	Mansfield	East Midlands	312	95.5%	94.5%
19	North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	555	95.5%	86.0%
20	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	1,321	95.5%	90.0%
21	Halton	North West	239	95.4%	97.9%
22	South Ribble	North West	389	95.4%	95.6%
23	Rushmoor	South East	297	95.3%	95.0%
24	Stockport	North West	1,318	95.1%	98.4%
25	Canterbury	South East	925	95.1%	77.8%
26	Redditch	West Midlands	160	95.0%	87.5%
27	Vale of White Horse	South East	1,015	95.0%	95.4%
28	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	467	94.9%	98.7%
29	St. Helens	North West	499	94.8%	99.6%
30	Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	306	94.8%	97.1%
31	West Oxfordshire	South East	1,125	94.8%	96.8%
32	Mid Devon	South West	704	94.7%	94.2%
33	Bath and North East Somerset	South West	1,817	94.7%	79.0%
34	Tamworth	West Midlands	150	94.7%	99.3%
35	Tonbridge and Malling	South East	880	94.7%	89.0%
36	Wokingham	South East	1,142	94.4%	98.9%
37	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	605	94.4%	90.9%
38	Bromsgrove	West Midlands	476	94.3%	88.9%
39	Gosport	South East	226	94.3%	91.6%
40	Broxtowe	East Midlands	479	94.0%	98.3%
41	North Devon	South West	939	93.8%	96.7%
42	North Norfolk	East of England	906	93.8%	92.2%
43	Gedling	East Midlands	415	93.7%	91.1%
44	South Oxfordshire	South East	1,529	93.7%	90.8%
45	Ipswich	East of England	429	93.7%	98.6%
46	Knowsley	North West	299	93.7%	94.7%
47	Solihull	West Midlands	1,118	93.7%	86.7%
48	South Cambridgeshire	East of England	1,509	93.6%	91.1%
49	Havant	South East	408	93.6%	78.9%
50	East Lindsey	East Midlands	817	93.5%	87.9%
51	North Warwickshire	West Midlands	368	93.5%	81.5%
52	Winchester	South East	918	93.5%	91.7%
53	South Norfolk	East of England	1,013	93.4%	90.0%
54	County Durham	North East	1,706	93.4%	91.1%
55	Rugby	West Midlands	466	93.3%	85.6%
56	Broadland	East of England	782	93.3%	92.3%
57	Stockton-on-Tees	North East	612	93.3%	89.4%
58	Hartlepool	North East	224	93.3%	99.6%
59	Adur	South East	298	93.3%	96.3%
60	Herefordshire, County of	West Midlands	1,406	93.2%	83.3%
61	Lincoln	East Midlands	336	93.2%	84.2%
62	Erewash	East Midlands	390	93.1%	77.7%
63	West Lindsey	East Midlands	562	93.1%	97.9%
64	Wiltshire	South West	3,659	93.0%	93.6%
65	Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	485	93.0%	96.7%
66	Chorley	North West	553	93.0%	96.8%
67	Tunbridge Wells	South East	1,178	93.0%	97.6%
68	Kensington and Chelsea	London	1,960	92.8%	94.4%
69	Test Valley	South East	996	92.8%	92.3%
70	Wyre Forest	West Midlands	427	92.7%	95.5%
71	Sefton	North West	1,029	92.7%	97.6%
72	Isles of Scilly	South West	68	92.7%	80.9%
73	Plymouth	South West	680	92.7%	97.1%
74	Hertsmere	East of England	742	92.6%	91.6%
75	North Hertfordshire	East of England	1,102	92.6%	86.2%
76	Melton	East Midlands	308	92.5%	71.4%
77	East Staffordshire	West Midlands	601	92.5%	80.2%
78	Cornwall	South West	4,839	92.5%	94.8%
79	Westmorland and Furness	North West	1,204	92.4%	92.1%
80	Forest of Dean	South West	561	92.3%	93.8%
81	Preston	North West	653	92.3%	93.4%
82	South Downs National Park	National Parks	1,639	92.3%	89.3%
83	Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	1,257	92.2%	89.4%
84	Barnsley	Yorkshire and the Humber	673	92.1%	76.1%
85	Rushcliffe	East Midlands	761	92.1%	85.5%
86	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	532	92.1%	92.7%
87	Blaby	East Midlands	467	92.1%	91.9%
88	Isle of Wight	South East	792	92.0%	94.7%
89	Cheshire West and Chester	North West	1,707	92.0%	92.0%
90	East Suffolk	East of England	1,965	92.0%	84.0%
91	South Tyneside	North East	396	91.9%	96.7%
92	Wakefield	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,084	91.9%	89.3%
93	Southwark	London	1,622	91.9%	94.3%
94	Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	767	91.8%	90.9%
95	Cherwell	South East	1,091	91.8%	78.8%
96	Kingston upon Hull, City of	Yorkshire and the Humber	436	91.7%	88.3%
97	Mid Sussex	South East	1,115	91.7%	96.9%
98	Basingstoke and Deane	South East	1,076	91.6%	85.1%
99	Dorset	South West	2,781	91.6%	92.1%
100	Horsham	South East	1,319	91.6%	95.3%
101	Kirklees	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,779	91.5%	91.2%
102	Yorkshire Dales National Park	National Parks	449	91.3%	82.4%
103	Medway	South East	999	91.2%	97.7%
104	Thanet	South East	751	91.1%	86.3%
105	West Suffolk	East of England	1,018	91.1%	85.4%
106	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	242	90.9%	95.0%
107	Boston	East Midlands	306	90.8%	87.9%
108	Derby	East Midlands	944	90.8%	88.9%
109	Sunderland	North East	581	90.7%	97.1%
110	Worthing	South East	573	90.6%	92.8%
111	Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	571	90.5%	99.8%
112	South Kesteven	East Midlands	1,002	90.5%	89.9%
113	New Forest	South East	885	90.4%	95.0%
114	Southampton	South East	742	90.3%	92.0%
115	West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	1,832	90.2%	85.7%
116	Cambridge	East of England	1,014	90.1%	93.2%
117	Darlington	North East	465	90.1%	93.1%
118	South Hams	South West	1,018	90.1%	94.8%
119	Lake District National Park	National Parks	753	90.0%	84.3%
120	Wandsworth	London	2,062	90.0%	89.5%
121	Eastleigh	South East	547	90.0%	93.6%
122	Bexley	London	1,324	90.0%	97.7%
123	Brighton and Hove	South East	1,719	89.8%	81.4%
124	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	1,005	89.8%	85.0%
125	Northumberland National Park	National Parks	39	89.7%	97.4%
126	Warwick	West Midlands	915	89.7%	94.8%
127	Swindon	South West	866	89.7%	94.0%
128	Salford	North West	737	89.7%	95.8%
129	West Berkshire	South East	1,045	89.7%	88.5%
130	Sutton	London	891	89.6%	94.7%
131	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,887	89.5%	98.8%
132	Three Rivers	East of England	819	89.5%	98.7%
133	Bracknell Forest	South East	502	89.4%	89.6%
134	Merton	London	1,079	89.3%	88.8%
135	Lewes	South East	394	89.3%	82.2%
136	Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	486	89.3%	74.9%
137	North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	4,714	89.3%	84.9%
138	Tewkesbury	South West	689	89.3%	91.7%
139	King’s Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	1,216	89.2%	93.3%
140	Swale	South East	658	89.2%	94.8%
141	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	817	89.1%	98.3%
142	Rutland	East Midlands	520	89.0%	99.0%
143	Cotswold	South West	1,252	89.0%	90.3%
144	Harborough	East Midlands	814	88.9%	75.5%
145	Nottingham	East Midlands	1,044	88.9%	78.7%
146	Gateshead	North East	482	88.8%	91.3%
147	Mid Suffolk	East of England	882	88.8%	95.7%
148	Islington	London	1,488	88.8%	95.2%
149	North Somerset	South West	1,139	88.8%	86.0%
150	New Forest National Park	National Parks	487	88.7%	76.4%
151	Chesterfield	East Midlands	345	88.7%	86.7%
152	Oldham	North West	821	88.7%	92.3%
153	Rother	South East	739	88.6%	87.8%
154	Chichester	South East	935	88.6%	97.7%
155	Dover	South East	772	88.5%	92.0%
156	Northumberland	North East	2,013	88.4%	93.4%
157	Huntingdonshire	East of England	1,077	88.4%	92.7%
158	Dacorum	East of England	1,130	88.3%	82.9%
159	Waverley	South East	1,378	88.3%	95.6%
160	Somerset	South West	3,740	88.3%	84.2%
161	Reigate and Banstead	South East	981	88.2%	93.2%
162	Camden	London	1,973	88.1%	89.8%
163	East Devon	South West	1,321	88.1%	79.0%
164	East Hampshire	South East	606	88.1%	87.8%
165	North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	1,096	88.0%	82.0%
166	Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	520	87.9%	77.5%
167	Oxford	South East	1,150	87.8%	90.3%
168	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	475	87.8%	94.3%
169	Burnley	North West	294	87.8%	95.2%
170	Wirral	North West	909	87.7%	95.6%
171	Milton Keynes	South East	1,088	87.7%	96.6%
172	Ashford	South East	991	87.6%	95.2%
173	Hartlepool Development Corporation	North East	32	87.5%	81.3%
174	Stroud	South West	964	87.5%	95.3%
175	Manchester	North West	1,924	87.4%	93.3%
176	Charnwood	East Midlands	872	87.4%	89.5%
177	Sevenoaks	South East	1,130	87.4%	94.1%
178	Trafford	North West	1,430	87.3%	92.4%
179	Cheshire East	North West	2,513	87.2%	86.9%
180	Torridge	South West	554	87.2%	95.5%
181	Great Yarmouth	East of England	366	87.2%	94.8%
182	Torbay	South West	529	87.2%	84.9%
183	Middlesbrough Development Corporation	North East	70	87.1%	81.4%
184	Chelmsford	East of England	1,304	87.1%	88.6%
185	Surrey Heath	South East	600	87.0%	88.5%
186	Hastings	South East	338	87.0%	95.9%
187	St Albans	East of England	1,411	87.0%	89.3%
188	Fenland	East of England	604	86.9%	93.7%
189	West Devon	South West	367	86.9%	92.9%
190	Shropshire	West Midlands	2,083	86.9%	91.3%
191	Peak District National Park	National Parks	548	86.9%	91.4%
192	Pendle	North West	441	86.9%	90.3%
193	Doncaster	Yorkshire and the Humber	928	86.9%	89.1%
194	Maldon	East of England	444	86.7%	90.5%
195	Dartmoor National Park	National Parks	307	86.6%	92.5%
196	Basildon	East of England	806	86.6%	82.3%
197	Rochdale	North West	609	86.5%	90.6%
198	Sheffield	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,756	86.5%	90.3%
199	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	705	86.4%	86.5%
200	Sandwell	West Midlands	909	86.4%	97.1%
201	Welwyn Hatfield	East of England	633	86.3%	93.8%
202	Babergh	East of England	800	86.3%	94.3%
203	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	697	86.2%	93.8%
204	Portsmouth	South East	613	86.1%	95.6%
205	Bradford	Yorkshire and the Humber	2,322	86.1%	83.8%
206	Wychavon	West Midlands	1,082	86.0%	89.2%
207	Bristol, City of	South West	2,098	86.0%	86.8%
208	Westminster	London	4,602	85.9%	79.0%
209	Calderdale	Yorkshire and the Humber	856	85.9%	93.8%
210	Eastbourne	South East	325	85.9%	80.3%
211	Arun	South East	794	85.8%	96.1%
212	Braintree	East of England	927	85.8%	95.2%
213	Tameside	North West	561	85.7%	95.9%
214	Rossendale	North West	231	85.7%	92.6%
215	Bury	North West	757	85.6%	99.5%
216	Worcester	West Midlands	427	85.5%	98.4%
217	South Staffordshire	West Midlands	612	85.5%	98.0%
218	Broxbourne	East of England	481	85.5%	88.6%
219	Haringey	London	1,469	85.2%	91.9%
220	Exeter	South West	582	85.2%	86.8%
221	Liverpool	North West	1,478	85.0%	92.6%
222	High Peak	East Midlands	364	84.9%	93.1%
223	Bassetlaw	East Midlands	575	84.9%	86.4%
224	Tendring	East of England	837	84.8%	87.6%
225	Hillingdon	London	1,680	84.8%	93.5%
226	Wigan	North West	708	84.6%	94.8%
227	South Gloucestershire	South West	1,585	84.5%	86.2%
228	Ealing	London	1,973	84.5%	95.1%
229	Buckinghamshire	South East	4,446	84.5%	76.8%
230	Central Bedfordshire	East of England	1,444	84.4%	95.7%
231	Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation	London	57	84.2%	96.5%
232	Lewisham	London	1,303	84.1%	94.4%
233	Breckland	East of England	801	84.0%	87.6%
234	Walsall	West Midlands	800	84.0%	91.0%
235	Reading	South East	643	84.0%	84.9%
236	Tandridge	South East	701	83.9%	93.3%
237	Wealden	South East	1,361	83.8%	95.0%
238	Harlow	East of England	278	83.8%	92.5%
239	Ashfield	East Midlands	425	83.8%	87.1%
240	Guildford	South East	1,348	83.8%	87.5%
241	Maidstone	South East	1,110	83.7%	96.9%
242	Hart	South East	698	83.7%	91.3%
243	Stafford	West Midlands	512	83.6%	66.0%
244	Tower Hamlets	London	998	83.6%	92.7%
245	Coventry	West Midlands	1,131	83.5%	99.3%
246	Runnymede	South East	661	83.4%	96.5%
247	Leeds	Yorkshire and the Humber	3,681	83.4%	92.9%
248	Wyre	North West	539	83.3%	95.0%
249	Lancaster	North West	717	83.0%	93.4%
250	Blackpool	North West	351	82.9%	86.6%
251	Ribble Valley	North West	520	82.9%	91.9%
252	Newham	London	989	82.8%	92.2%
253	Epsom and Ewell	South East	639	82.8%	93.0%
254	Brentwood	East of England	717	82.7%	93.4%
255	Peterborough	East of England	665	82.7%	82.6%
256	Crawley	South East	218	82.6%	97.3%
257	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	2,244	82.5%	85.7%
258	Colchester	East of England	1,074	82.5%	97.4%
259	York	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,278	82.5%	89.5%
260	Dudley	West Midlands	780	82.4%	90.1%
261	Malvern Hills	West Midlands	744	82.4%	91.9%
262	Birmingham	West Midlands	3,472	82.2%	75.9%
263	Woking	South East	736	81.9%	86.7%
264	Hackney	London	1,323	81.8%	88.4%
265	Leicester	East Midlands	1,069	81.8%	92.7%
266	West Lancashire	North West	564	81.7%	85.6%
267	Folkestone and Hythe	South East	761	81.7%	98.6%
268	Lichfield	West Midlands	716	81.7%	97.1%
269	Thurrock	East of England	671	81.5%	97.9%
270	East Hertfordshire	East of England	1,184	81.2%	94.1%
271	Richmond upon Thames	London	1,888	81.0%	96.7%
272	Spelthorne	South East	634	80.8%	98.4%
273	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	904	80.4%	99.5%
274	South Holland	East Midlands	607	80.4%	97.2%
275	Teignbridge	South West	716	80.3%	95.8%
276	Bedford	East of England	993	79.6%	85.4%
277	Rochford	East of England	472	79.2%	74.6%
278	Rotherham	Yorkshire and the Humber	750	79.2%	100.0%
279	Bolton	North West	996	79.1%	87.5%
280	Watford	East of England	526	78.9%	87.8%
281	Dartford	South East	595	78.8%	91.6%
282	Warrington	North West	883	78.7%	95.5%
283	Castle Point	East of England	385	78.4%	99.2%
284	Brent	London	1,963	78.0%	96.1%
285	Gloucester	South West	435	77.9%	89.4%
286	Slough	South East	617	77.8%	77.0%
287	Lambeth	London	1,784	77.8%	93.4%
288	Enfield	London	1,939	77.7%	85.1%
289	Harrow	London	1,330	77.6%	90.9%
290	Greenwich	London	1,468	77.5%	89.6%
291	Uttlesford	East of England	1,247	76.9%	87.7%
292	Hyndburn	North West	277	76.9%	86.6%
293	Bromley	London	2,164	76.9%	85.9%
294	Elmbridge	South East	1,358	76.9%	91.3%
295	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	396	76.3%	93.9%
296	Waltham Forest	London	1,391	76.1%	86.5%
297	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	266	75.9%	94.0%
298	Luton	East of England	741	75.8%	97.3%
299	Barnet	London	2,541	75.4%	95.4%
300	Kingston upon Thames	London	1,112	75.4%	88.2%
301	Middlesbrough	North East	301	75.1%	90.7%
302	Gravesham	South East	619	74.8%	95.5%
303	Croydon	London	1,590	74.7%	91.0%
304	Havering	London	1,501	74.4%	97.0%
305	Redbridge	London	1,673	72.4%	91.4%
306	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	1,530	71.6%	92.8%
307	Mole Valley	South East	913	71.6%	73.7%
308	Hounslow	London	1,191	71.5%	97.6%
309	Epping Forest	East of England	1,307	67.2%	94.3%
310	Barking and Dagenham	London	725	64.1%	100.0%

This is the headline. Paid plans add each council's full scorecard — quarterly trends back to 1979, major/minor/householder splits, live application volume and the agents most active in each patch.

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