Cornwall
South West · E06000052 · 69 quarters held (2009 Q2 – 2026 Q2)
Decisions
4,741
2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2
Refusal rate
6.8%
higher than 19% of authorities
Majors in time
77.1%
threshold 60%
Minors in time
92.3%
threshold 70%
Householder in time
98.0%
no formal threshold
Delegated
98.6%
decisions not to committee
Appellant win rate
33.1%
361 allowed of 1,091 decided
Decisions overturned
1.2%
quality threshold 10%
Refusal rate trend — last 40 quarters
2016 Q3 → 2026 Q2 · peak 9.7%
Official statistics — is development moving through the system?
MHCLG quarterly planning returns (PS1/PS2), last 4 quarters 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2, and the government's latest Housing Delivery Test. These are the authority's own statutory returns, not our scrape.
Applications received
5,015
in the window
Applications decided
4,741
in the window
Approval rate
93.2%
4,418 granted, 323 refused · national median refusal 11.6%
Refusal rate rank 11 of 63 unitary authorities (1 = fewest refusals) · peer median 10.6%
Decided within time
95.3%
rank 87 of 307 reporting authorities · national median 91.4%
Rank 16 of 63 unitary authorities · peer median 90.6%
Peer ranks compare only unitary authorities with more than 50 decisions in the window, the same floor as the national rank. A rank among peers is the fairer read: types of authority carry very different caseloads.
Performance by development type
| Type | Decisions | Approved | In time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | 131 | 93.9% | 77.1% |
| Minor | 2,003 | 87.9% | 92.3% |
| Other | 2,607 | 97.2% | — |
| of which householder | 1,828 | 97.5% | 98.0% |
"In time" = within the statutory period or an agreed extension, excluding prior approvals. "Other" covers everything that is neither major nor minor; householder figures are measured against the 8-week period.
Applications through the system
Last 8 quarters held
▬ received ▬ decided
Housing Delivery Test
HDT 2025 measurement, homes delivered against requirement over 2022/23 to 2024/25
94%
Action planDelivery 85–94%: the authority must publish an action plan. No presumption or buffer consequence.
Where these figures come from. Each dataset below is the publisher's own file, loaded unchanged; rows are matched to this authority by its ONS code (E06000052). Missing values are shown as "—" and are never estimated or filled from another period.
Open Government Licence v3.0. The MHCLG tables are reloaded every Sunday; the loaded date is the last successful run.
| Dataset | Publisher | Covers this authority | Loaded | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planning application decisions (PS2) | MHCLG | 2009 Q2 to 2026 Q2 (69 quarters) | 25 Oct 2026 · 68,583 rows nationally | Live tables |
| Planning application flow (PS1) | MHCLG | 2009 Q2 to 2026 Q2 (69 quarters) | 25 Oct 2026 · 42,861 rows nationally | Live tables |
| Housing Delivery Test 2025 | MHCLG | 2022/23 to 2024/25 | 18 Aug 2026 | Measurement |
Quarterly history
| Quarter | Decisions | Granted | Refused | Refusal % | Majors in time | Minors in time | Received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | 1,159 | 1,098 | 61 | 5.3% | 71.4% | 94.2% | 1,220 |
| 2026 Q1 | 1,111 | 1,025 | 86 | 7.7% | 81.8% | 91.8% | 1,213 |
| 2025 Q4 | 1,253 | 1,172 | 81 | 6.5% | 77.8% | 92.0% | 1,223 |
| 2025 Q3 | 1,218 | 1,123 | 95 | 7.8% | 75.0% | 91.5% | 1,359 |
| 2025 Q2 | 1,257 | 1,156 | 101 | 8.0% | 77.8% | 87.1% | 1,208 |
| 2025 Q1 | 1,228 | 1,138 | 90 | 7.3% | 80.0% | 90.1% | 1,399 |
| 2024 Q4 | 1,314 | 1,193 | 121 | 9.2% | 84.6% | 82.3% | 1,256 |
| 2024 Q3 | 1,292 | 1,181 | 111 | 8.6% | 100.0% | 87.2% | 1,442 |
| 2024 Q2 | 1,293 | 1,167 | 126 | 9.7% | 100.0% | 90.3% | 1,390 |
| 2024 Q1 | 1,334 | 1,212 | 122 | 9.1% | 75.0% | 85.7% | 1,393 |
| 2023 Q4 | 1,329 | 1,215 | 114 | 8.6% | 100.0% | 82.1% | 1,388 |
| 2023 Q3 | 1,328 | 1,212 | 116 | 8.7% | 60.0% | 79.8% | 1,469 |
| 2023 Q2 | 1,406 | 1,297 | 109 | 7.8% | 100.0% | 79.3% | 1,354 |
| 2023 Q1 | 1,520 | 1,402 | 118 | 7.8% | 100.0% | 77.2% | 1,708 |
| 2022 Q4 | 1,531 | 1,417 | 114 | 7.4% | 87.5% | 74.8% | 1,600 |
| 2022 Q3 | 1,644 | 1,510 | 134 | 8.2% | 71.4% | 71.1% | 1,723 |
| 2022 Q2 | 1,864 | 1,723 | 141 | 7.6% | 71.4% | 75.5% | 1,932 |
| 2022 Q1 | 1,897 | 1,750 | 147 | 7.7% | 61.1% | 65.4% | 1,969 |
| 2021 Q4 | 1,790 | 1,667 | 123 | 6.9% | 63.6% | 69.1% | 2,057 |
| 2021 Q3 | 1,800 | 1,697 | 103 | 5.7% | 64.3% | 72.3% | 1,905 |
| 2021 Q2 | 1,788 | 1,677 | 111 | 6.2% | 66.7% | 74.4% | 2,064 |
| 2021 Q1 | 1,756 | 1,635 | 121 | 6.9% | 82.4% | 86.2% | 2,020 |
| 2020 Q4 | 1,806 | 1,676 | 130 | 7.2% | 90.0% | 85.7% | 1,915 |
| 2020 Q3 | 1,520 | 1,418 | 102 | 6.7% | 73.3% | 82.2% | 1,743 |
| 2020 Q2 | 1,505 | 1,427 | 78 | 5.2% | 90.0% | 86.1% | 1,630 |
| 2020 Q1 | 1,423 | 1,308 | 115 | 8.1% | 92.3% | 80.8% | 1,709 |
| 2019 Q4 | 1,596 | 1,493 | 103 | 6.5% | 93.3% | 85.3% | 1,687 |
| 2019 Q3 | 1,745 | 1,649 | 96 | 5.5% | 87.5% | 87.2% | 1,774 |
| 2019 Q2 | 1,580 | 1,481 | 99 | 6.3% | 90.0% | 86.1% | 1,850 |
| 2019 Q1 | 1,433 | 1,343 | 90 | 6.3% | 88.2% | 87.4% | 1,671 |
| 2018 Q4 | 2,098 | 1,928 | 170 | 8.1% | 90.0% | 87.8% | 1,973 |
| 2018 Q3 | 1,805 | 1,704 | 101 | 5.6% | 100.0% | 91.4% | 1,960 |
| 2018 Q2 | 1,881 | 1,733 | 148 | 7.9% | 100.0% | 88.6% | 2,024 |
| 2018 Q1 | 1,710 | 1,544 | 166 | 9.7% | 95.8% | 85.1% | 2,030 |
| 2017 Q4 | 1,845 | 1,692 | 153 | 8.3% | 100.0% | 84.7% | 1,928 |
| 2017 Q3 | 1,877 | 1,726 | 151 | 8.0% | 95.1% | 75.0% | 2,019 |
| 2017 Q2 | 1,767 | 1,644 | 123 | 7.0% | 96.3% | 80.4% | 2,093 |
| 2017 Q1 | 1,795 | 1,670 | 125 | 7.0% | 91.4% | 86.4% | 1,979 |
| 2016 Q4 | 1,799 | 1,703 | 96 | 5.3% | 93.9% | 87.5% | 1,940 |
| 2016 Q3 | 1,931 | 1,765 | 166 | 8.6% | 96.0% | 83.9% | 2,029 |
| 2016 Q2 | 1,753 | 1,611 | 142 | 8.1% | 84.0% | 80.2% | 2,059 |
| 2016 Q1 | 1,603 | 1,450 | 153 | 9.5% | 87.5% | 78.7% | 1,892 |
| 2015 Q4 | 1,743 | 1,546 | 197 | 11.3% | 80.8% | 75.7% | 1,856 |
| 2015 Q3 | 1,700 | 1,532 | 168 | 9.9% | 85.0% | 75.9% | 1,938 |
| 2015 Q2 | 1,851 | 1,637 | 214 | 11.6% | 96.6% | 82.3% | 1,918 |
| 2015 Q1 | 1,645 | 1,481 | 164 | 10.0% | 89.5% | 78.9% | 1,938 |
| 2014 Q4 | 1,774 | 1,595 | 179 | 10.1% | 95.2% | 78.2% | 1,908 |
| 2014 Q3 | 1,816 | 1,669 | 147 | 8.1% | 86.4% | 74.8% | 1,905 |
| 2014 Q2 | 1,732 | 1,569 | 163 | 9.4% | 95.0% | 73.4% | 1,940 |
| 2014 Q1 | 1,659 | 1,386 | 163 | 9.8% | 88.2% | 72.7% | 2,024 |
| 2013 Q4 | 1,836 | 1,538 | 199 | 10.8% | 75.0% | 74.6% | 1,906 |
| 2013 Q3 | 2,028 | 1,737 | 161 | 7.9% | 67.4% | 77.1% | 2,069 |
| 2013 Q2 | 1,712 | 1,516 | 124 | 7.2% | 44.0% | 72.6% | 1,980 |
| 2013 Q1 | 1,811 | 1,606 | 137 | 7.6% | 45.7% | 65.6% | 1,846 |
| 2012 Q4 | 1,908 | 1,699 | 134 | 7.0% | 36.2% | 61.7% | 1,969 |
| 2012 Q3 | 1,939 | 1,756 | 122 | 6.3% | 36.2% | 53.9% | 1,982 |
| 2012 Q2 | 1,955 | 1,778 | 124 | 6.3% | 34.0% | 65.5% | 2,128 |
| 2012 Q1 | 1,782 | 1,560 | 106 | 5.9% | 48.5% | 66.8% | 2,177 |
| 2011 Q4 | 2,078 | 1,770 | 172 | 8.3% | 52.3% | 74.0% | 2,047 |
| 2011 Q3 | 1,944 | 1,663 | 157 | 8.1% | 61.0% | 70.7% | 2,219 |
| 2011 Q2 | 1,841 | 1,610 | 123 | 6.7% | 57.4% | 74.8% | 2,033 |
| 2011 Q1 | 1,688 | 1,499 | 130 | 7.7% | 61.9% | 74.8% | 2,013 |
| 2010 Q4 | 2,080 | 1,862 | 165 | 7.9% | 82.7% | 69.8% | 1,931 |
| 2010 Q3 | 1,929 | 1,726 | 134 | 6.9% | 44.8% | 54.4% | 2,108 |
| 2010 Q2 | 1,817 | 1,615 | 145 | 8.0% | 65.7% | 79.2% | 2,040 |
| 2010 Q1 | 1,657 | 1,452 | 152 | 9.2% | 67.2% | 78.7% | 1,965 |
| 2009 Q4 | 1,875 | 1,640 | 171 | 9.1% | 66.1% | 79.7% | 1,962 |
| 2009 Q3 | 1,986 | 1,708 | 200 | 10.1% | 52.5% | 80.8% | 2,118 |
| 2009 Q2 | 2,092 | 1,765 | 242 | 11.6% | 64.5% | 74.7% | 2,095 |
Decisions and speed: MHCLG planning application statistics (PS1/PS2), Open Government Licence v3.0, 2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2. Speed figures exclude prior approvals and are measured against the statutory period or agreed extension. Appeal figures: our aggregation of published Planning Inspectorate decisions, 2021–2026 — a different period from the decision figures above. Designation thresholds shown are indicative, not official.