← All authorities

Bedford

East of England · E06000055 · 189 quarters held (1979 Q2 – 2026 Q2)

Decisions
1,060
2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2
Refusal rate
20.8%
higher than 90% of authorities
Majors in time
81.3%
threshold 60%
Minors in time
62.0%
threshold 70%
Householder in time
92.2%
no formal threshold
Delegated
95.1%
decisions not to committee
Appellant win rate
30.3%
139 allowed of 459 decided
Decisions overturned
2.2%
quality threshold 10%

Refusal rate trend — last 40 quarters

2016 Q3 → 2026 Q2 · peak 29.6%

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
1,068
in the window
Applications decided
1,060
in the window
Approval rate
79.2%
839 granted, 221 refused · national median refusal 11.6%
Refusal rate rank 59 of 63 unitary authorities (1 = fewest refusals) · peer median 10.6%
Decided within time
84.6%
rank 237 of 307 reporting authorities · national median 91.4%
Rank 47 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
TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time
Major6267.7%81.3%
Minor26864.9%62.0%
Other73085.3%—
of which householder54887.6%92.2%
"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
01613222024 Q3: 247 received2024 Q3: 243 decided2024 Q32024 Q4: 242 received2024 Q4: 245 decided2025 Q1: 322 received2025 Q1: 259 decided2025 Q2: 237 received2025 Q2: 254 decided2025 Q3: 238 received2025 Q3: 262 decided2025 Q4: 259 received2025 Q4: 256 decided2026 Q1: 270 received2026 Q1: 221 decided2026 Q2: 301 received2026 Q2: 321 decided2026 Q2
▬ received   ▬ decided
Housing Delivery Test
HDT 2025 measurement, homes delivered against requirement over 2022/23 to 2024/25
94%
Action plan

Delivery 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 (E06000055). Missing values are shown as "—" and are never estimated or filled from another period.
DatasetPublisherCovers this authorityLoadedOfficial source
Planning application decisions (PS2)MHCLG1979 Q2 to 2026 Q2 (189 quarters)18 Oct 2026 · 68,583 rows nationallyLive tables
Planning application flow (PS1)MHCLG1979 Q2 to 2026 Q2 (189 quarters)18 Oct 2026 · 42,861 rows nationallyLive tables
Housing Delivery Test 2025MHCLG2022/23 to 2024/2518 Aug 2026Measurement
Open Government Licence v3.0. The MHCLG tables are reloaded every Sunday; the loaded date is the last successful run.

Quarterly history

QuarterDecisions GrantedRefused Refusal %Majors in time Minors in timeReceived
2026 Q2 321 255 66 20.6% 100.0% 65.4% 301
2026 Q1 221 160 61 27.6% 75.0% 41.2% 270
2025 Q4 256 203 53 20.7% 50.0% 73.7% 259
2025 Q3 262 221 41 15.6% 100.0% 66.7% 238
2025 Q2 254 206 48 18.9% — 70.0% 237
2025 Q1 259 209 50 19.3% 100.0% 50.0% 322
2024 Q4 245 196 49 20.0% — 57.1% 242
2024 Q3 243 197 46 18.9% 100.0% 64.7% 247
2024 Q2 288 218 70 24.3% 100.0% 76.5% 296
2024 Q1 276 203 73 26.4% 66.7% 69.2% 304
2023 Q4 294 207 87 29.6% 100.0% 93.1% 308
2023 Q3 281 216 65 23.1% 100.0% 63.0% 294
2023 Q2 301 227 74 24.6% 100.0% 30.8% 300
2023 Q1 291 223 68 23.4% 100.0% 53.6% 323
2022 Q4 306 236 70 22.9% 100.0% 65.7% 267
2022 Q3 365 285 80 21.9% 100.0% 61.5% 296
2022 Q2 385 307 78 20.3% 0.0% 44.4% 364
2022 Q1 339 262 77 22.7% 100.0% 58.6% 397
2021 Q4 393 320 73 18.6% — 42.3% 361
2021 Q3 387 327 60 15.5% — 50.0% 425
2021 Q2 362 298 64 17.7% 50.0% 38.5% 443
2021 Q1 356 276 80 22.5% — 63.0% 467
2020 Q4 347 278 69 19.9% 50.0% 48.4% 363
2020 Q3 290 213 77 26.6% 0.0% 48.3% 364
2020 Q2 277 222 55 19.9% 66.7% 30.0% 278
2020 Q1 297 235 62 20.9% 0.0% 40.0% 360
2019 Q4 332 259 73 22.0% 25.0% 38.5% 309
2019 Q3 319 263 56 17.6% 0.0% 28.1% 312
2019 Q2 293 259 34 11.6% 100.0% 27.3% 353
2019 Q1 266 224 42 15.8% 50.0% 45.2% 325
2018 Q4 293 248 45 15.4% 50.0% 54.8% 337
2018 Q3 320 279 41 12.8% 55.6% 51.2% 332
2018 Q2 365 310 55 15.1% 100.0% 66.7% 393
2018 Q1 330 284 46 13.9% 40.0% 77.4% 374
2017 Q4 309 260 49 15.9% 100.0% 73.5% 401
2017 Q3 391 344 47 12.0% 83.3% 76.4% 353
2017 Q2 390 354 36 9.2% 83.3% 89.5% 401
2017 Q1 319 273 46 14.4% 100.0% 81.6% 380
2016 Q4 368 332 36 9.8% 57.1% 73.0% 340
2016 Q3 351 322 29 8.3% 75.0% 45.9% 353
2016 Q2 329 302 27 8.2% 76.9% 62.0% 392
2016 Q1 306 275 31 10.1% 62.5% 74.7% 383
2015 Q4 301 270 31 10.3% 57.1% 69.4% 301
2015 Q3 341 296 45 13.2% 75.0% 55.9% 324
2015 Q2 334 303 31 9.3% 71.4% 66.7% 339
2015 Q1 287 261 26 9.1% 66.7% 78.4% 371
2014 Q4 320 293 27 8.4% 100.0% 75.0% 290
2014 Q3 317 290 27 8.5% 87.5% 67.3% 389
2014 Q2 321 300 21 6.5% 85.7% 61.5% 385
2014 Q1 315 276 19 6.0% 57.1% 54.8% 353
2013 Q4 330 287 22 6.7% 71.4% 52.9% 306
2013 Q3 344 289 28 8.1% 53.3% 59.3% 360
2013 Q2 334 283 27 8.1% 59.1% 52.9% 384
2013 Q1 288 243 25 8.7% 83.3% 54.7% 332
2012 Q4 307 266 27 8.8% 42.9% 57.6% 317
2012 Q3 290 236 35 12.1% 38.5% 51.7% 340
2012 Q2 346 289 33 9.5% 23.1% 66.7% 334
2012 Q1 284 235 33 11.6% 60.0% 52.9% 329
2011 Q4 286 236 26 9.1% 11.1% 58.9% 325
2011 Q3 364 300 41 11.3% 36.4% 61.8% 348
2011 Q2 341 301 27 7.9% 60.0% 64.3% 376
2011 Q1 310 260 31 10.0% 41.7% 70.3% 382
2010 Q4 316 253 41 13.0% 33.3% 77.4% 300
2010 Q3 424 351 45 10.6% 84.6% 70.0% 401
2010 Q2 344 272 54 15.7% 85.7% 77.4% 424
2010 Q1 332 263 45 13.6% 64.3% 82.4% 371
2009 Q4 319 266 40 12.5% 42.9% 77.6% 334
2009 Q3 325 240 56 17.2% 58.3% 69.4% 349
2009 Q2 322 245 50 15.5% 50.0% 82.0% 350
2009 Q1 311 228 53 17.0% 94.1% 74.0% 336
2008 Q4 358 270 70 19.6% 87.5% 72.2% 379
2008 Q3 483 352 111 23.0% 61.9% 75.5% 433
2008 Q2 479 328 113 23.6% 60.0% 73.2% 475
2008 Q1 398 268 101 25.4% 80.0% 74.5% 502
2007 Q4 470 331 107 22.8% 70.6% 64.2% 476
2007 Q3 489 355 94 19.2% 27.3% 68.6% 517
2007 Q2 502 364 105 20.9% 64.0% 66.4% 558
2007 Q1 408 287 92 22.5% 80.0% 76.6% 542
2006 Q4 465 347 89 19.1% 68.8% 78.2% 467
2006 Q3 503 363 104 20.7% 62.5% 66.4% 476
2006 Q2 515 388 105 20.4% 81.0% 73.4% 516
2006 Q1 445 314 100 22.5% 52.9% 72.6% 528
2005 Q4 460 347 85 18.5% 40.0% 79.6% 474
2005 Q3 563 400 123 21.8% 42.9% 71.8% 553
2005 Q2 485 379 76 15.7% 68.4% 82.1% 518
2005 Q1 401 315 71 17.7% 87.5% 81.4% 557
2004 Q4 518 386 93 18.0% 57.9% 78.6% 504
2004 Q3 527 412 89 16.9% 81.0% 72.3% 569
2004 Q2 602 479 96 15.9% 81.3% 86.7% 623
2004 Q1 482 360 84 17.4% 83.3% 84.5% 595
2003 Q4 474 364 77 16.2% 46.7% 88.8% 491
2003 Q3 610 447 113 18.5% 73.7% 81.2% 563
2003 Q2 568 434 106 18.7% 29.4% 52.0% 576
2003 Q1 468 366 77 16.5% 28.6% 39.8% 502
2002 Q4 439 343 81 18.5% 38.9% 34.2% 497
2002 Q3 528 391 108 20.5% 47.4% 36.9% 487
2002 Q2 503 412 68 13.5% 41.7% 35.6% 525
2002 Q1 458 332 94 20.5% 40.9% 30.5% 528
2001 Q4 363 272 68 18.7% 29.4% 29.9% 428
2001 Q3 394 310 67 17.0% 70.0% 28.4% 428
2001 Q2 382 307 55 14.4% 41.7% 41.5% 456
2001 Q1 496 415 74 14.9% 80.8% 64.5% 593
2000 Q4 403 325 74 18.4% 50.0% 66.2% 408
2000 Q3 423 340 71 16.8% 30.0% 59.5% 479
2000 Q2 377 292 79 21.0% 57.1% 57.1% 383
2000 Q1 351 284 59 16.8% 40.0% 47.2% 420
1999 Q4 386 332 51 13.2% 57.1% 43.1% 313
1999 Q3 392 345 46 11.7% 25.0% 39.8% 443
1999 Q2 364 301 61 16.8% 72.7% 43.8% 376
1999 Q1 359 298 51 14.2% 38.5% 43.3% 414
1998 Q4 383 328 50 13.1% 35.0% 49.3% 307
1998 Q3 356 314 39 11.0% 54.5% 37.6% 425
1998 Q2 418 359 51 12.2% 58.3% 50.4% 458
1998 Q1 329 288 38 11.6% 66.7% 60.9% 405
1997 Q4 353 321 30 8.5% 42.1% 45.7% 362
1997 Q3 420 383 34 8.1% 45.5% 34.8% 356
1997 Q2 387 343 41 10.6% 73.7% 57.6% 465
1997 Q1 311 274 29 9.3% 72.7% 57.1% 361
1996 Q4 297 253 38 12.8% 55.6% 65.6% 410
1996 Q3 373 326 44 11.8% 72.2% 60.3% 310
1996 Q2 301 264 34 11.3% 50.0% 48.9% 353
1996 Q1 322 282 40 12.4% 70.0% 60.0% —
1995 Q4 371 318 53 14.3% 53.8% 62.3% —
1995 Q3 358 307 51 14.2% 66.7% 52.3% —
1995 Q2 322 267 55 17.1% 70.0% 55.5% —
1995 Q1 342 290 52 15.2% 64.3% 45.0% —
1994 Q4 331 274 57 17.2% 71.4% 65.1% —
1994 Q3 327 263 64 19.6% 64.3% 60.0% —
1994 Q2 363 297 66 18.2% 78.6% 48.3% —
1994 Q1 250 205 45 18.0% 88.9% 54.5% —
1993 Q4 343 290 53 15.5% 77.8% 55.4% —
1993 Q3 365 294 71 19.5% 87.5% 58.7% —
1993 Q2 347 271 76 21.9% 87.5% 59.8% —
1993 Q1 314 260 54 17.2% 92.9% 58.1% —
1992 Q4 348 275 73 21.0% 88.9% 73.3% —
1992 Q3 298 232 66 22.1% 62.5% 67.1% —
1992 Q2 378 300 78 20.6% 60.0% 60.4% —
1992 Q1 353 278 75 21.2% 94.1% 73.5% —
1991 Q4 355 287 68 19.2% 82.4% 60.7% —
1991 Q3 390 314 76 19.5% 78.6% 76.9% —
1991 Q2 410 307 103 25.1% 53.8% 59.2% —
1991 Q1 305 248 57 18.7% 70.6% 37.4% —
1990 Q4 392 316 76 19.4% 40.0% 37.9% —
1990 Q3 464 371 93 20.0% 54.1% 41.2% —
1990 Q2 451 376 75 16.6% 40.0% 27.3% —
1990 Q1 413 326 87 21.1% 33.3% 32.1% —
1989 Q4 461 346 115 24.9% 79.3% 37.3% —
1989 Q3 486 402 84 17.3% 65.4% 41.6% —
1989 Q2 667 528 139 20.8% 72.0% 47.2% —
1989 Q1 590 479 111 18.8% 82.9% 40.5% —
1988 Q4 542 406 136 25.1% 79.4% 38.7% —
1988 Q3 547 453 94 17.2% 64.3% 42.3% —
1988 Q2 648 514 134 20.7% 70.8% 46.9% —
1988 Q1 497 404 93 18.7% 82.8% 41.2% —
1987 Q4 523 427 96 18.4% 66.7% 64.6% —
1987 Q3 445 383 62 13.9% 76.5% 60.1% —
1987 Q2 535 466 69 12.9% 70.8% 62.1% —
1987 Q1 382 323 59 15.4% 68.8% 64.3% —
1986 Q4 502 391 111 22.1% 83.3% 71.9% —
1986 Q3 454 380 74 16.3% 100.0% 64.1% —
1986 Q2 470 395 75 16.0% 84.6% 74.0% —
1986 Q1 461 381 80 17.4% 70.6% 68.3% —
1985 Q4 381 338 43 11.3% 90.0% 61.1% —
1985 Q3 407 363 44 10.8% 66.7% 60.6% —
1985 Q2 385 331 54 14.0% 100.0% 61.7% —
1985 Q1 366 311 55 15.0% 81.3% 60.7% —
1984 Q4 346 297 49 14.2% 75.0% 47.3% —
1984 Q3 373 316 57 15.3% 66.7% 55.6% —
1984 Q2 411 367 44 10.7% 57.1% 49.7% —
1984 Q1 383 336 47 12.3% 83.3% 56.9% —
1983 Q4 343 307 36 10.5% 72.7% 47.2% —
1983 Q3 326 289 37 11.3% 92.3% 50.0% —
1983 Q2 353 318 35 9.9% 81.8% 54.8% —
1983 Q1 392 355 37 9.4% 82.4% 58.6% —
1982 Q4 291 261 30 10.3% 88.9% 74.5% —
1982 Q3 357 318 39 10.9% 90.0% 65.9% —
1982 Q2 342 306 36 10.5% 80.0% 63.1% —
1982 Q1 348 312 36 10.3% 72.7% 65.0% —
1981 Q4 304 273 31 10.2% 83.3% 74.5% —
1981 Q3 391 339 52 13.3% 81.8% 58.5% —
1981 Q2 508 436 72 14.2% 69.2% 50.9% —
1981 Q1 432 357 75 17.4% 89.5% 59.1% —
1980 Q4 367 322 45 12.3% 75.0% 55.9% —
1980 Q3 488 420 68 13.9% 69.2% 49.4% —
1980 Q2 493 426 67 13.6% 85.7% 57.4% —
1980 Q1 523 454 69 13.2% 75.0% 52.1% —
1979 Q4 523 446 77 14.7% 94.1% 53.7% —
1979 Q3 514 444 70 13.6% 63.6% 33.3% —
1979 Q2 420 371 49 11.7% 100.0% 39.6% —

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.

Ask Planning Agent
🧭Guide me