Planning Permission: Appeals
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many years of data his Department assesses on appeal performance when determining whether to designate a local planning authority under section 62A.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
The proportion of major planning applications determined by Cherwell District Council that were overturned on appeal was 12% in 2023–24 and 9% in 2024–25. Data for 2025–26 is not yet available.
These figures are drawn from published statistics in Live Table P152a which can be found on gov.uk here, the Historical and discontinued planning live tables which can be found on gov.uk here, and the Planning Inspectorate’s casework database which can be found in the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database on gov.uk here.
My Department assesses the quality of decision‑making under section 62A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 based on decisions taken by the local planning authority over a two‑year period. Data is drawn from the two years ending with the most recent quarter for which planning application decision data is available at the time of designation, with a further nine‑month period applied to allow sufficient time for related appeals to be determined.
Performance is considered across the full two-year assessment period. While year-on-year variation may provide context, decisions are not based on a single year of data.
The effect of designation is that applicants for major development may choose to submit applications directly to the Planning Inspectorate or the local planning authority. Where applications are submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, the designated authority is consulted and local communities continue to have the opportunity to make representations, ensuring that local views are taken into account.
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