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Watford

East of England · E07000103 · 189 quarters held (1979 Q2 – 2026 Q2)

Decisions
496
2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2
Refusal rate
20.2%
higher than 89% of authorities
Majors in time
100.0%
threshold 60%
Minors in time
76.0%
threshold 70%
Householder in time
94.9%
no formal threshold
Delegated
97.4%
decisions not to committee
Appellant win rate
33.0%
74 allowed of 224 decided
Decisions overturned
2.3%
quality threshold 10%

Refusal rate trend — last 40 quarters

2016 Q3 → 2026 Q2 · peak 40.4%

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
491
in the window
Applications decided
496
in the window
Approval rate
79.8%
396 granted, 100 refused · national median refusal 11.6%
Refusal rate rank 152 of 164 district councils (1 = fewest refusals) · peer median 11.4%
Decided within time
88.7%
rank 191 of 307 reporting authorities · national median 91.4%
Rank 104 of 164 district councils · peer median 91.9%

Peer ranks compare only district councils 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
Major785.7%100.0%
Minor12975.2%76.0%
Other36081.4%—
of which householder30479.9%94.9%
"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
0801592024 Q3: 129 received2024 Q3: 122 decided2024 Q32024 Q4: 125 received2024 Q4: 120 decided2025 Q1: 159 received2025 Q1: 112 decided2025 Q2: 138 received2025 Q2: 148 decided2025 Q3: 135 received2025 Q3: 128 decided2025 Q4: 117 received2025 Q4: 134 decided2026 Q1: 136 received2026 Q1: 116 decided2026 Q2: 103 received2026 Q2: 118 decided2026 Q2
▬ received   ▬ decided
Housing Delivery Test
HDT 2025 measurement, homes delivered against requirement over 2022/23 to 2024/25
95%
No consequence

Delivery at or above 95%: no HDT 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 (E07000103). 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 118 91 27 22.9% 100.0% 73.3% 103
2026 Q1 116 87 29 25.0% — 84.0% 136
2025 Q4 134 115 19 14.2% — 78.9% 117
2025 Q3 128 103 25 19.5% — 68.2% 135
2025 Q2 148 110 38 25.7% — 67.9% 138
2025 Q1 112 85 27 24.1% — 75.0% 159
2024 Q4 120 97 23 19.2% — 72.0% 125
2024 Q3 122 90 32 26.2% — 66.7% 129
2024 Q2 131 98 33 25.2% — 96.6% 135
2024 Q1 144 120 24 16.7% 100.0% 94.4% 134
2023 Q4 131 100 31 23.7% 100.0% 100.0% 156
2023 Q3 130 99 31 23.8% — 100.0% 141
2023 Q2 138 107 31 22.5% 100.0% 88.0% 130
2023 Q1 146 112 34 23.3% — 95.5% 132
2022 Q4 150 124 26 17.3% 0.0% 96.6% 166
2022 Q3 175 130 45 25.7% 0.0% 83.8% 163
2022 Q2 202 146 56 27.7% — 95.3% 203
2022 Q1 192 156 36 18.8% 0.0% 93.8% 180
2021 Q4 181 111 70 38.7% 100.0% 96.9% 210
2021 Q3 231 156 75 32.5% 100.0% 86.5% 201
2021 Q2 186 123 63 33.9% — 97.4% 211
2021 Q1 212 129 83 39.2% 100.0% 98.1% 219
2020 Q4 179 124 55 30.7% — 100.0% 227
2020 Q3 159 119 40 25.2% 100.0% 89.3% 155
2020 Q2 151 107 44 29.1% — 90.3% 148
2020 Q1 181 131 50 27.6% — 81.6% 173
2019 Q4 188 112 76 40.4% 0.0% 97.4% 191
2019 Q3 186 130 56 30.1% 66.7% 80.9% 204
2019 Q2 180 129 51 28.3% 0.0% 93.5% 226
2019 Q1 165 125 40 24.2% 100.0% 96.9% 189
2018 Q4 205 150 55 26.8% 50.0% 88.1% 178
2018 Q3 211 157 54 25.6% 100.0% 82.2% 216
2018 Q2 190 152 38 20.0% 100.0% 75.0% 193
2018 Q1 195 133 62 31.8% 33.3% 84.2% 219
2017 Q4 174 140 34 19.5% 100.0% 92.9% 197
2017 Q3 215 162 53 24.7% 100.0% 96.4% 194
2017 Q2 188 136 52 27.7% 100.0% 97.4% 207
2017 Q1 185 153 32 17.3% 100.0% 97.3% 208
2016 Q4 175 144 31 17.7% 100.0% 94.4% 201
2016 Q3 196 151 45 23.0% — 93.3% 203
2016 Q2 198 146 52 26.3% — 97.9% 224
2016 Q1 186 142 44 23.7% 100.0% 96.8% 193
2015 Q4 204 149 55 27.0% — 95.4% 205
2015 Q3 179 148 31 17.3% 100.0% 95.5% 217
2015 Q2 203 158 45 22.2% 100.0% 97.7% 200
2015 Q1 165 134 31 18.8% 75.0% 93.6% 270
2014 Q4 182 149 33 18.1% 66.7% 100.0% 231
2014 Q3 212 160 52 24.5% 100.0% 97.4% 248
2014 Q2 192 158 34 17.7% 100.0% 100.0% 264
2014 Q1 168 107 39 23.2% 100.0% 92.5% 268
2013 Q4 174 111 37 21.3% 75.0% 98.3% 172
2013 Q3 178 117 33 18.5% 100.0% 93.8% 191
2013 Q2 184 134 25 13.6% 33.3% 100.0% 212
2013 Q1 172 130 25 14.5% 100.0% 98.2% 203
2012 Q4 190 127 37 19.5% 0.0% 96.6% 193
2012 Q3 209 149 31 14.8% 100.0% 93.0% 202
2012 Q2 180 129 26 14.4% 100.0% 80.0% 219
2012 Q1 165 115 33 20.0% 75.0% 93.8% 203
2011 Q4 174 115 41 23.6% 0.0% 94.5% 167
2011 Q3 213 155 33 15.5% 75.0% 93.2% 192
2011 Q2 214 150 35 16.4% 100.0% 94.7% 221
2011 Q1 165 120 29 17.6% 100.0% 91.8% 221
2010 Q4 202 136 35 17.3% 50.0% 90.2% 176
2010 Q3 206 155 29 14.1% 80.0% 86.0% 200
2010 Q2 194 137 42 21.6% 75.0% 91.4% 209
2010 Q1 143 91 24 16.8% 100.0% 93.9% 305
2009 Q4 154 113 28 18.2% 100.0% 97.7% 125
2009 Q3 112 69 27 24.1% 100.0% 89.6% 91
2009 Q2 153 103 27 17.6% 66.7% 92.7% 136
2009 Q1 166 119 28 16.9% 90.0% 92.5% 156
2008 Q4 213 150 47 22.1% 100.0% 91.8% 231
2008 Q3 245 160 66 26.9% 100.0% 81.1% 256
2008 Q2 265 170 72 27.2% 83.3% 84.4% 239
2008 Q1 199 130 53 26.6% 100.0% 94.5% 286
2007 Q4 234 151 59 25.2% 80.0% 78.1% 214
2007 Q3 269 170 63 23.4% 85.7% 83.1% 242
2007 Q2 208 136 46 22.1% 80.0% 73.5% 252
2007 Q1 192 138 40 20.8% 60.0% 81.1% 233
2006 Q4 199 125 52 26.1% 100.0% 80.9% 218
2006 Q3 238 165 52 21.8% 71.4% 90.8% 218
2006 Q2 224 164 40 17.9% 100.0% 86.7% 240
2006 Q1 182 125 37 20.3% 83.3% 83.7% 256
2005 Q4 189 115 50 26.5% 80.0% 76.8% 186
2005 Q3 231 165 47 20.3% 100.0% 81.4% 216
2005 Q2 200 123 51 25.5% 66.7% 87.0% 211
2005 Q1 190 113 62 32.6% 100.0% 78.3% 219
2004 Q4 241 159 62 25.7% 55.6% 75.4% 224
2004 Q3 278 179 80 28.8% 93.3% 80.3% 225
2004 Q2 245 155 73 29.8% 66.7% 74.5% 310
2004 Q1 196 115 65 33.2% 36.4% 56.8% 245
2003 Q4 186 128 45 24.2% 20.0% 36.4% 222
2003 Q3 208 162 23 11.1% 37.5% 33.3% 214
2003 Q2 212 158 40 18.9% 16.7% 58.0% 196
2003 Q1 208 163 30 14.4% 28.6% 31.6% 211
2002 Q4 207 155 32 15.5% 20.0% 19.5% 232
2002 Q3 140 109 24 17.1% 0.0% 21.9% 197
2002 Q2 237 189 31 13.1% 0.0% 33.3% 180
2002 Q1 131 87 27 20.6% 0.0% 37.9% 220
2001 Q4 173 136 27 15.6% 14.3% 50.0% 174
2001 Q3 213 169 36 16.9% 25.0% 38.2% 203
2001 Q2 187 148 27 14.4% 0.0% 56.3% 231
2001 Q1 186 151 29 15.6% 0.0% 46.3% 196
2000 Q4 187 142 41 21.9% 14.3% 20.4% 160
2000 Q3 190 150 27 14.2% 0.0% 22.6% 173
2000 Q2 183 143 21 11.5% 50.0% 35.0% 192
2000 Q1 172 142 16 9.3% 0.0% 38.0% 210
1999 Q4 150 125 19 12.7% 0.0% 54.5% 193
1999 Q3 190 159 22 11.6% 25.0% 51.1% 178
1999 Q2 158 124 24 15.2% 16.7% 44.7% 187
1999 Q1 165 124 22 13.3% 0.0% 26.8% 161
1998 Q4 180 136 17 9.4% 0.0% 40.0% 176
1998 Q3 201 178 18 9.0% 20.0% 39.3% 195
1998 Q2 159 133 19 11.9% 0.0% 54.3% 187
1998 Q1 148 133 9 6.1% 33.3% 50.0% 178
1997 Q4 166 138 21 12.7% 28.6% 41.9% 179
1997 Q3 147 126 13 8.8% 0.0% 48.7% 150
1997 Q2 122 106 7 5.7% 0.0% 64.5% 180
1997 Q1 106 87 15 14.2% 40.0% 47.1% 119
1996 Q4 112 94 14 12.5% 50.0% 59.0% 113
1996 Q3 128 113 8 6.3% 50.0% 48.3% 123
1996 Q2 133 121 9 6.8% 100.0% 42.6% 149
1996 Q1 291 237 54 18.6% 44.4% 38.3% —
1995 Q4 277 228 49 17.7% 33.3% 54.4% —
1995 Q3 342 290 52 15.2% 25.0% 60.5% —
1995 Q2 371 325 46 12.4% 58.3% 50.0% —
1995 Q1 286 236 50 17.5% 50.0% 61.9% —
1994 Q4 295 248 47 15.9% 50.0% 72.5% —
1994 Q3 348 296 52 14.9% 78.6% 72.1% —
1994 Q2 343 291 52 15.2% 57.1% 64.6% —
1994 Q1 266 244 22 8.3% 75.0% 69.1% —
1993 Q4 278 236 42 15.1% 63.6% 75.6% —
1993 Q3 318 259 59 18.6% 66.7% 76.5% —
1993 Q2 390 345 45 11.5% 42.9% 87.7% —
1993 Q1 290 245 45 15.5% 77.8% 73.4% —
1992 Q4 310 247 63 20.3% 75.0% 73.6% —
1992 Q3 348 287 61 17.5% 63.6% 69.6% —
1992 Q2 365 302 63 17.3% 52.9% 70.8% —
1992 Q1 295 243 52 17.6% 66.7% 71.6% —
1991 Q4 297 246 51 17.2% 64.3% 80.2% —
1991 Q3 325 273 52 16.0% 66.7% 78.4% —
1991 Q2 353 298 55 15.6% 78.6% 74.8% —
1991 Q1 311 259 52 16.7% 60.0% 51.9% —
1990 Q4 291 236 55 18.9% 66.7% 56.7% —
1990 Q3 351 268 83 23.6% 40.0% 43.1% —
1990 Q2 387 325 62 16.0% 47.4% 44.6% —
1990 Q1 353 272 81 22.9% 55.6% 56.2% —
1989 Q4 375 280 95 25.3% 82.4% 53.8% —
1989 Q3 366 277 89 24.3% 85.0% 53.0% —
1989 Q2 438 301 137 31.3% 65.2% 35.9% —
1989 Q1 420 357 63 15.0% 87.1% 86.5% —
1988 Q4 308 254 54 17.5% 93.8% 84.8% —
1988 Q3 378 327 51 13.5% 84.2% 85.4% —
1988 Q2 461 386 75 16.3% 80.8% 81.4% —
1988 Q1 367 311 56 15.3% 85.7% 85.9% —
1987 Q4 322 265 57 17.7% 93.8% 85.5% —
1987 Q3 356 308 48 13.5% 83.3% 84.5% —
1987 Q2 397 331 66 16.6% 78.3% 80.0% —
1987 Q1 283 240 43 15.2% 85.7% 86.1% —
1986 Q4 283 233 50 17.7% 92.9% 84.5% —
1986 Q3 337 293 44 13.1% 82.4% 83.6% —
1986 Q2 360 301 59 16.4% 76.2% 78.8% —
1986 Q1 278 235 43 15.5% 85.7% 85.8% —
1985 Q4 266 219 47 17.7% 92.9% 83.5% —
1985 Q3 318 278 40 12.6% 81.3% 82.5% —
1985 Q2 369 309 60 16.3% 76.2% 79.3% —
1985 Q1 224 187 37 16.5% 83.3% 85.2% —
1984 Q4 230 190 40 17.4% 87.5% 78.5% —
1984 Q3 299 259 40 13.4% 87.5% 68.5% —
1984 Q2 319 275 44 13.8% 90.0% 72.8% —
1984 Q1 280 231 49 17.5% 81.8% 79.8% —
1983 Q4 267 221 46 17.2% 75.0% 75.0% —
1983 Q3 274 237 37 13.5% 80.0% 80.6% —
1983 Q2 413 346 67 16.2% 86.7% 76.2% —
1983 Q1 268 235 33 12.3% 75.0% 87.0% —
1982 Q4 258 221 37 14.3% 69.2% 73.3% —
1982 Q3 303 264 39 12.9% 100.0% 78.0% —
1982 Q2 330 282 48 14.5% 93.8% 83.7% —
1982 Q1 216 191 25 11.6% 90.5% 77.2% —
1981 Q4 291 259 32 11.0% 76.9% 88.5% —
1981 Q3 279 236 43 15.4% 75.0% 87.2% —
1981 Q2 397 315 82 20.7% 96.4% 79.6% —
1981 Q1 366 292 74 20.2% 96.0% 93.8% —
1980 Q4 396 335 61 15.4% 86.2% 87.1% —
1980 Q3 360 296 64 17.8% 83.3% 78.0% —
1980 Q2 449 384 65 14.5% 84.6% 75.2% —
1980 Q1 364 285 79 21.7% 88.9% 83.0% —
1979 Q4 440 354 86 19.5% 95.2% 84.8% —
1979 Q3 418 350 68 16.3% 76.9% 73.4% —
1979 Q2 462 391 71 15.4% 88.9% 81.8% —

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.

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