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Bolton

North West · E08000001 · 189 quarters held (1979 Q2 – 2026 Q2)

Decisions
992
2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2
Refusal rate
21.3%
higher than 91% of authorities
Majors in time
85.7%
threshold 60%
Minors in time
85.3%
threshold 70%
Householder in time
88.9%
no formal threshold
Delegated
95.9%
decisions not to committee
Appellant win rate
24.4%
57 allowed of 234 decided
Decisions overturned
0.9%
quality threshold 10%

Refusal rate trend — last 40 quarters

2016 Q3 → 2026 Q2 · peak 26.4%

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
1,059
in the window
Applications decided
992
in the window
Approval rate
78.7%
781 granted, 211 refused · national median refusal 11.6%
Refusal rate rank 35 of 36 metropolitan districts (1 = fewest refusals) · peer median 13.2%
Decided within time
85.6%
rank 229 of 307 reporting authorities · national median 91.4%
Rank 31 of 36 metropolitan districts · peer median 92.1%

Peer ranks compare only metropolitan districts 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
Major4082.5%85.7%
Minor23076.5%85.3%
Other72279.2%—
of which householder51883.6%88.9%
"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
01492972024 Q3: 261 received2024 Q3: 293 decided2024 Q32024 Q4: 260 received2024 Q4: 224 decided2025 Q1: 286 received2025 Q1: 212 decided2025 Q2: 221 received2025 Q2: 258 decided2025 Q3: 273 received2025 Q3: 274 decided2025 Q4: 235 received2025 Q4: 237 decided2026 Q1: 297 received2026 Q1: 227 decided2026 Q2: 254 received2026 Q2: 254 decided2026 Q2
▬ received   ▬ decided
Housing Delivery Test
HDT 2025 measurement, homes delivered against requirement over 2022/23 to 2024/25
87%
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 (E08000001). 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 254 202 52 20.5% 100.0% 87.0% 254
2026 Q1 227 167 60 26.4% 50.0% 82.6% 297
2025 Q4 237 183 54 22.8% 80.0% 86.4% 235
2025 Q3 274 229 45 16.4% 100.0% 85.2% 273
2025 Q2 258 209 49 19.0% — 76.0% 221
2025 Q1 212 169 43 20.3% 50.0% 76.5% 286
2024 Q4 224 189 35 15.6% 0.0% 80.0% 260
2024 Q3 293 241 52 17.7% 33.3% 80.0% 261
2024 Q2 296 252 44 14.9% 66.7% 94.7% 311
2024 Q1 298 264 34 11.4% 100.0% 80.0% 310
2023 Q4 274 220 54 19.7% 66.7% 85.7% 269
2023 Q3 338 272 66 19.5% 83.3% 79.3% 337
2023 Q2 372 314 58 15.6% 100.0% 63.6% 323
2023 Q1 460 401 59 12.8% 92.3% 68.2% 303
2022 Q4 389 346 43 11.1% 60.0% 55.6% 290
2022 Q3 346 325 21 6.1% 33.3% 33.3% 378
2022 Q2 222 208 14 6.3% 60.0% 17.6% 356
2022 Q1 339 318 21 6.2% 100.0% 0.0% 416
2021 Q4 266 248 18 6.8% 100.0% 71.4% 379
2021 Q3 404 373 31 7.7% 33.3% 90.9% 375
2021 Q2 414 368 46 11.1% 100.0% 71.4% 442
2021 Q1 373 338 35 9.4% 100.0% 85.7% 480
2020 Q4 397 370 27 6.8% 100.0% 92.6% 404
2020 Q3 326 286 40 12.3% 100.0% 92.3% 460
2020 Q2 292 265 27 9.2% 100.0% 89.5% 328
2020 Q1 311 287 24 7.7% 100.0% 95.7% 335
2019 Q4 358 322 36 10.1% 83.3% 91.7% 385
2019 Q3 313 280 33 10.5% 100.0% 89.3% 367
2019 Q2 347 314 33 9.5% 100.0% 97.0% 391
2019 Q1 350 310 40 11.4% 100.0% 94.7% 376
2018 Q4 318 291 27 8.5% 100.0% 93.1% 347
2018 Q3 372 337 35 9.4% 100.0% 98.1% 389
2018 Q2 364 317 47 12.9% 100.0% 94.9% 392
2018 Q1 320 285 35 10.9% 100.0% 96.0% 381
2017 Q4 351 309 42 12.0% 100.0% 97.1% 347
2017 Q3 380 335 45 11.8% 100.0% 94.0% 406
2017 Q2 393 341 52 13.2% 75.0% 88.7% 399
2017 Q1 364 324 40 11.0% 90.9% 97.4% 368
2016 Q4 331 300 31 9.4% 100.0% 84.0% 362
2016 Q3 386 319 67 17.4% 83.3% 95.5% 406
2016 Q2 422 380 42 10.0% 92.3% 98.6% 434
2016 Q1 326 289 37 11.3% 100.0% 84.5% 406
2015 Q4 300 274 26 8.7% 77.8% 84.9% 338
2015 Q3 363 323 40 11.0% 100.0% 64.6% 348
2015 Q2 305 273 32 10.5% 87.5% 29.2% 372
2015 Q1 346 315 31 9.0% 100.0% 51.1% 382
2014 Q4 286 258 28 9.8% 81.3% 35.2% 366
2014 Q3 321 272 49 15.3% 92.9% 49.4% 326
2014 Q2 342 311 31 9.1% 62.5% 62.8% 372
2014 Q1 297 257 26 8.8% 100.0% 48.7% 355
2013 Q4 303 263 21 6.9% 83.3% 68.2% 357
2013 Q3 391 334 42 10.7% 53.8% 69.9% 348
2013 Q2 336 294 21 6.3% 84.6% 61.9% 383
2013 Q1 332 295 26 7.8% 50.0% 53.3% 371
2012 Q4 332 267 43 13.0% 62.5% 63.5% 333
2012 Q3 406 359 30 7.4% 66.7% 70.3% 358
2012 Q2 374 314 45 12.0% 50.0% 58.8% 413
2012 Q1 340 290 28 8.2% 58.3% 67.1% 412
2011 Q4 293 253 28 9.6% 83.3% 80.9% 322
2011 Q3 399 347 36 9.0% 66.7% 78.8% 360
2011 Q2 419 363 45 10.7% 88.9% 72.7% 415
2011 Q1 315 263 37 11.7% 42.9% 76.3% 416
2010 Q4 351 295 45 12.8% 77.8% 72.6% 320
2010 Q3 422 353 51 12.1% 64.3% 66.0% 403
2010 Q2 452 398 28 6.2% 63.6% 77.8% 423
2010 Q1 331 262 47 14.2% 57.1% 83.9% 402
2009 Q4 355 313 24 6.8% 83.3% 77.3% 374
2009 Q3 412 356 41 10.0% 54.5% 83.2% 412
2009 Q2 314 274 23 7.3% 75.0% 87.4% 423
2009 Q1 419 366 41 9.8% 92.3% 86.9% 388
2008 Q4 397 330 44 11.1% 76.5% 80.6% 372
2008 Q3 508 452 45 8.9% 66.7% 88.3% 464
2008 Q2 566 493 62 11.0% 80.0% 71.4% 578
2008 Q1 474 418 41 8.6% 73.3% 79.7% 531
2007 Q4 560 493 62 11.1% 70.8% 84.4% 550
2007 Q3 686 587 81 11.8% 82.8% 75.7% 599
2007 Q2 698 608 76 10.9% 48.3% 79.2% 715
2007 Q1 504 431 60 11.9% 71.4% 78.9% 683
2006 Q4 582 488 77 13.2% 38.1% 83.2% 589
2006 Q3 688 567 105 15.3% 73.1% 82.4% 624
2006 Q2 664 551 91 13.7% 68.0% 85.1% 719
2006 Q1 535 446 75 14.0% 80.6% 82.5% 678
2005 Q4 634 536 78 12.3% 62.5% 89.7% 600
2005 Q3 660 540 100 15.2% 66.7% 86.7% 671
2005 Q2 768 646 111 14.5% 73.3% 84.8% 731
2005 Q1 551 452 93 16.9% 63.6% 84.7% 738
2004 Q4 638 544 88 13.8% 72.7% 78.1% 601
2004 Q3 775 656 100 12.9% 94.1% 81.4% 770
2004 Q2 771 670 79 10.2% 65.5% 84.7% 820
2004 Q1 573 473 89 15.5% 78.9% 91.2% 779
2003 Q4 615 512 91 14.8% 82.6% 87.6% 618
2003 Q3 694 619 62 8.9% 72.0% 84.9% 694
2003 Q2 708 634 71 10.0% 72.2% 90.3% 730
2003 Q1 526 458 57 10.8% 68.2% 85.9% 675
2002 Q4 648 566 73 11.3% 43.8% 41.3% 578
2002 Q3 634 544 82 12.9% 60.0% 33.3% 592
2002 Q2 584 512 67 11.5% 54.5% 41.9% 624
2002 Q1 415 361 47 11.3% 56.3% 49.1% 552
2001 Q4 419 368 45 10.7% 42.1% 49.1% 460
2001 Q3 578 512 59 10.2% 62.5% 48.1% 506
2001 Q2 485 423 58 12.0% 70.0% 42.6% 534
2001 Q1 397 355 37 9.3% 56.3% 62.4% 517
2000 Q4 431 376 54 12.5% 53.3% 64.8% 397
2000 Q3 488 418 62 12.7% 88.0% 64.4% 455
2000 Q2 466 406 59 12.7% 61.5% 62.1% 523
2000 Q1 417 362 55 13.2% 61.9% 51.8% 453
1999 Q4 396 340 56 14.1% 46.7% 53.9% 378
1999 Q3 462 399 63 13.6% 33.3% 61.2% 504
1999 Q2 458 394 64 14.0% 38.9% 60.2% 450
1999 Q1 404 359 44 10.9% 61.1% 63.8% 446
1998 Q4 429 369 60 14.0% 44.4% 57.1% 423
1998 Q3 425 364 61 14.4% 58.3% 43.2% 413
1998 Q2 472 398 74 15.7% 69.2% 51.6% 512
1998 Q1 388 334 54 13.9% 70.6% 54.5% 457
1997 Q4 431 374 57 13.2% 58.8% 63.5% 365
1997 Q3 495 431 63 12.7% 56.3% 50.9% 466
1997 Q2 478 401 77 16.1% 65.0% 58.6% 542
1997 Q1 325 283 41 12.6% 76.0% 52.9% 398
1996 Q4 407 357 50 12.3% 56.3% 58.8% 407
1996 Q3 406 355 51 12.6% 73.7% 54.8% 393
1996 Q2 374 321 51 13.6% 70.0% 50.0% 439
1996 Q1 343 288 55 16.0% 60.0% 53.2% —
1995 Q4 360 312 48 13.3% 71.4% 39.5% —
1995 Q3 409 338 71 17.4% 47.8% 64.5% —
1995 Q2 436 380 56 12.8% 66.7% 52.4% —
1995 Q1 335 295 40 11.9% 47.4% 51.3% —
1994 Q4 537 449 88 16.4% 42.9% 49.6% —
1994 Q3 408 351 57 14.0% 56.0% 51.4% —
1994 Q2 364 296 68 18.7% 38.9% 53.1% —
1994 Q1 438 383 55 12.6% 34.8% 48.8% —
1993 Q4 412 349 63 15.3% 50.0% 38.3% —
1993 Q3 413 352 61 14.8% 66.7% 45.2% —
1993 Q2 396 341 55 13.9% 76.0% 63.0% —
1993 Q1 421 353 68 16.2% 71.0% 50.0% —
1992 Q4 404 343 61 15.1% 45.5% 53.8% —
1992 Q3 468 395 73 15.6% 38.9% 50.8% —
1992 Q2 500 413 87 17.4% 44.8% 51.4% —
1992 Q1 470 390 80 17.0% 73.7% 33.1% —
1991 Q4 488 429 59 12.1% 76.0% 57.1% —
1991 Q3 533 450 83 15.6% 71.4% 51.3% —
1991 Q2 472 360 112 23.7% 82.4% 44.8% —
1991 Q1 452 354 98 21.7% 61.1% 41.0% —
1990 Q4 497 399 98 19.7% 63.6% 54.2% —
1990 Q3 551 433 118 21.4% 47.6% 47.4% —
1990 Q2 668 556 112 16.8% 60.9% 52.5% —
1990 Q1 636 513 123 19.3% 72.4% 42.5% —
1989 Q4 564 423 141 25.0% 56.3% 49.3% —
1989 Q3 586 462 124 21.2% 75.0% 41.7% —
1989 Q2 631 518 113 17.9% 57.9% 59.6% —
1989 Q1 526 443 83 15.8% 81.5% 59.4% —
1988 Q4 479 408 71 14.8% 69.6% 69.2% —
1988 Q3 567 486 81 14.3% 66.7% 59.1% —
1988 Q2 532 438 94 17.7% 81.8% 62.3% —
1988 Q1 447 382 65 14.5% 57.1% 61.9% —
1987 Q4 451 367 84 18.6% 78.6% 62.5% —
1987 Q3 194 172 22 11.3% 66.7% 54.2% —
1987 Q2 229 205 24 10.5% 33.3% 52.3% —
1987 Q1 192 171 21 10.9% 0.0% 57.4% —
1986 Q4 192 172 20 10.4% 40.0% 66.3% —
1986 Q3 204 176 28 13.7% 50.0% 69.6% —
1986 Q2 207 188 19 9.2% 33.3% 64.1% —
1986 Q1 150 137 13 8.7% 75.0% 69.6% —
1985 Q4 162 138 24 14.8% 60.0% 66.7% —
1985 Q3 211 178 33 15.6% 66.7% 64.3% —
1985 Q2 210 182 28 13.3% 75.0% 61.9% —
1985 Q1 175 148 27 15.4% 75.0% 74.1% —
1984 Q4 209 180 29 13.9% 42.9% 57.7% —
1984 Q3 172 152 20 11.6% 75.0% 77.3% —
1984 Q2 183 167 16 8.7% 100.0% 66.7% —
1984 Q1 170 154 16 9.4% 42.9% 62.8% —
1983 Q4 186 168 18 9.7% 66.7% 59.3% —
1983 Q3 203 180 23 11.3% 66.7% 48.4% —
1983 Q2 197 176 21 10.7% 75.0% 50.5% —
1983 Q1 139 123 16 11.5% 16.7% 36.5% —
1982 Q4 156 136 20 12.8% 50.0% 51.2% —
1982 Q3 183 159 24 13.1% 80.0% 57.3% —
1982 Q2 184 165 19 10.3% 66.7% 69.1% —
1982 Q1 152 129 23 15.1% 25.0% 47.7% —
1981 Q4 172 154 18 10.5% 60.0% 53.2% —
1981 Q3 182 155 27 14.8% 10.0% 49.5% —
1981 Q2 324 283 41 12.7% 68.8% 42.0% —
1981 Q1 192 169 23 12.0% 55.6% 44.9% —
1980 Q4 209 172 37 17.7% 37.5% 52.5% —
1980 Q3 278 241 37 13.3% 50.0% 35.6% —
1980 Q2 273 229 44 16.1% 53.8% 52.6% —
1980 Q1 215 178 37 17.2% 38.9% 46.7% —
1979 Q4 285 256 29 10.2% 33.3% 43.1% —
1979 Q3 264 237 27 10.2% 0.0% 31.0% —
1979 Q2 223 206 17 7.6% 33.3% 34.5% —

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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