UK Planning Appeal Statistics
An overview of planning appeal outcomes across England and Scotland, based on 120,520 appeal decisions from 403 local planning authorities.
Total Appeals
120,520
National Success Rate
31.5%
Allowed or part-allowed
Local Authorities
403
Appeals Allowed
32,133
Top 10 Local Authorities by Appeal Volume
| # | Local Authority | Total Appeals | Success Rate | Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds City Council | 1,735 | 29.2% | 450 |
| 2 | City of Edinburgh | 1,556 | 23.9% | 255 |
| 3 | Barnet London Borough | 1,524 | 37.9% | 458 |
| 4 | Birmingham City Council | 1,187 | 33.4% | 349 |
| 5 | Brent London Borough | 1,147 | 31.9% | 237 |
| 6 | Cornwall Unitary Authority | 1,125 | 31.4% | 297 |
| 7 | Bromley London Borough | 1,119 | 33.2% | 341 |
| 8 | Bristol City Council | 1,101 | 35% | 348 |
| 9 | Hillingdon London Borough | 1,095 | 34.7% | 327 |
| 10 | Epping Forest District Council | 1,095 | 34.1% | 319 |
Success Rates by Appeal Type
| Appeal Type | Total | Success Rate | Allowed | Dismissed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Approval | 29,827 | 29.5% | 8,295 | 19,778 |
| Full Planning | 10,851 | 36.3% | 3,797 | 6,658 |
| Minor Commercial | 6,918 | 79.7% | 1,719 | 437 |
| Outline Planning | 1,695 | 35.3% | 468 | 857 |
| Commercial | 1,415 | 33.3% | 423 | 849 |
| Hearing | 648 | 46.3% | 259 | 300 |
| Reserved Matters | 332 | 35.8% | 102 | 183 |
| Inquiry | 215 | 100% | 50 | 0 |
| Enforcement | 20 | 68.4% | 13 | 6 |
Methodology
Statistics are derived from planning appeal decisions published by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) for England and the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) for Scotland. Success rate is the proportion of decided appeals (excluding withdrawn, invalid, or pending outcomes) that received an "Allowed" or "Part Allowed" decision. Data is refreshed daily and covers all appeal types. Individual case data is not exposed on this page — only aggregate counts and percentages are shown.
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