Council performance · official statistics · Yorkshire and the Humber
Barnsley approved 91.8% of the 655 planning applications it decided in 2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2, against a national figure of 87.1% — ranked 87 of 310 councils on approval rate.
Approval rate
91.8%
+4.7 pts vs national 87.1%
Decided on time
75.4%
-14.5 pts vs national 89.9%
Decisions
655
2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2
Rank on approval
#87
of 310 councils · top 28%
MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), release 202606 · 2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2. Approval rate = granted ÷ decisions. “Decided on time” = within the statutory period (8 weeks minor, 13 weeks major) or an agreed extension, the same definition MHCLG publishes.
A council that waves through extensions can still refuse most major schemes. The split is where the useful number usually lives.
| Type | Decisions | Approved | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major developments | 26 | 96.2% | 73.1% |
| Minor developments | 192 | 93.2% | 78.1% |
| Other (incl. householder, changes of use, adverts) | 437 | 90.8% | 74.4% |
| Householder (extensions, lofts, garages) | 0 | – | – |
Approval rate and share decided on time, by calendar year, against the national figure.
By calendar year · 2014–2026 (2026 partial: 2 of 4 quarters)
Hover or use the arrow keys for a year; every value is also in the table below. “On time” is blank for years before timeliness reporting began.
Calendar years, newest first. A year with fewer than four quarters reported is marked partial — compare its rates, not its volume.
| Year | Decisions | Volume | Approved | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026partial · 2 of 4 quarters | 298 | 90.6% | 77.5% | |
| 2025 | 647 | 93.3% | 79.4% | |
| 2024 | 657 | 92.5% | 92.1% | |
| 2023 | 684 | 90.2% | 94.7% | |
| 2022 | 834 | 89.8% | 93.2% | |
| 2021 | 1,028 | 89.4% | 93.7% | |
| 2020 | 875 | 87.4% | 93.1% | |
| 2019 | 917 | 91.0% | 87.9% | |
| 2018 | 885 | 91.4% | 94.8% | |
| 2017 | 925 | 93.6% | 91.3% | |
| 2016 | 916 | 94.3% | 86.7% | |
| 2015 | 888 | 92.5% | 86.2% | |
| 2014 | 962 | 90.0% | 84.9% |
Every council ranked
Approval rate, share decided on time and volume for every English council.
Quarterly trends, the decision outlook by application type, the full development-pressure map with each cell's approval record, the agents filing and winning here, appeals, market and MEES exposure are on the council scorecard in every paid plan.