Homesmedium confidence
Higher than similar council areas: Minor and other planning applications decided on time
Minor and other planning applications decided on time is 98.3% in Stockport (Year to Jun 2026), compared with 85.2% across five council areas with a similar profile (North Northamptonshire, Warrington, Swindon, Wigan, West Northamptonshire); 13.0 percentage points higher. It lies outside the range of all five (60.3% to 98.2%).
98.3% here85.2% five similar council areas: North Northamptonshire, Warrington, Swindon, Wigan, West Northamptonshire
How do we know this?
- Source
- Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government): Planning application statistics: live tables PS1 and PS2 (district matters) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- Year to Jun 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with five similar council areas: North Northamptonshire, Warrington, Swindon, Wigan, West Northamptonshire
- Method
- Planning application decisions. Local planning authorities report to government every quarter how many applications for planning permission (district matters: housing, commercial and other development, excluding minerals and waste) they decided, how many they granted and refused, and how many were decided within the statutory time or an agreed extension. We add the four most recent complete quarters (July 2025 to June 2026) and compare with the four before. Percentage granted is granted divided by all decisions, which includes applications withdrawn only if reported as decided; it is a measure of the mix of applications a council receives, not of how fair or permissive it is, because many applications are refused for good reason or amended before decision. Speed is the share decided in time among decisions not covered by a planning performance agreement, shown separately for major developments (10 or more homes, or sites over 1 hectare) and for minor and other applications. Few major decisions are made each year in most authorities, so major-development figures rest on small numbers. National Park authorities and development corporations are separate planning authorities and are not included in the council totals. Wales (Welsh Government development management survey): major plus minor and householder applications over April 2025 to March 2026, summed from four quarterly returns; other consents, pre-application cases and non-material amendments are excluded. "Decided in time" covers all applications and consents decided within the statutory period or an agreed extension. Denbighshire did not supply data. Scotland (Scottish Government annual planning statistics): all applications decided in the financial year 2024/25 (the 2025/26 annual release is not yet out); the share approved is of all applications decided; "local developments decided within two months" and average weeks are for local developments without a processing agreement. Northern Ireland (Department for Infrastructure): applications received and decided by each council in 2025/26, and the share approved of those decided. Each nation counts and classifies applications differently, so the figures describe each nation's own system and should not be compared across borders.
- Limitations
- Planning performance agreements excluded.
- Coverage: England: local planning authorities (district matters), councils only here. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own sources.
- Covers the 12-month window Year to Jun 2026 only.
- Similar areas are the five council areas closest on population size, share aged 65 and over, share aged under 16, share of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 20%, median house price (standardised); this is a convenience comparison, not a like-for-like guarantee.