Council performance · official statistics · National Parks
South Downs National Park approved 91.3% of the 1,616 planning applications it decided in 2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2, against a national figure of 87.1% — ranked 97 of 310 councils on approval rate.
Approval rate
91.3%
+4.3 pts vs national 87.1%
Decided on time
87.6%
-2.3 pts vs national 89.9%
Decisions
1,616
2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2
Rank on approval
#97
of 310 councils · top 31%
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 | 39 | 87.2% | 94.9% |
| Minor developments | 351 | 90.0% | 88.6% |
| Other (incl. householder, changes of use, adverts) | 1,226 | 91.8% | 87.1% |
| 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 | 793 | 89.9% | 87.8% | |
| 2025 | 1,656 | 91.8% | 90.9% | |
| 2024 | 1,904 | 87.9% | 89.6% | |
| 2023 | 1,948 | 91.0% | 90.1% | |
| 2022 | 2,174 |
Live applications in South Downs National Park
We scrape this council’s register several times a day. Search it free, with email alerts.
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.
| 90.8% |
| 85.9% |
| 2021 | 2,217 | 91.8% | 83.2% |
| 2020 | 1,989 | 93.3% | 87.9% |
| 2019 | 2,254 | 90.9% | 87.0% |
| 2018 | 2,426 | 87.4% | 87.0% |
| 2017 | 2,461 | 88.8% | 87.8% |
| 2016 | 2,549 | 90.1% | 87.2% |
| 2015 | 2,549 | 88.5% | 74.7% |
| 2014 | 2,436 | 88.9% | 69.8% |