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Sandwell

West Midlands · E08000028 · 147 quarters held (1987 Q4 – 2026 Q2)

Decisions
856
2025 Q3 – 2026 Q2
Refusal rate
13.4%
higher than 62% of authorities
Majors in time
100.0%
threshold 60%
Minors in time
93.4%
threshold 70%
Householder in time
98.5%
no formal threshold
Delegated
96.8%
decisions not to committee
Appellant win rate
34.5%
39 allowed of 113 decided
Decisions overturned
0.7%
quality threshold 10%

Refusal rate trend — last 40 quarters

2016 Q3 → 2026 Q2 · peak 17.4%

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
900
in the window
Applications decided
856
in the window
Approval rate
86.6%
741 granted, 115 refused · national median refusal 11.6%
Refusal rate rank 21 of 36 metropolitan districts (1 = fewest refusals) · peer median 13.2%
Decided within time
96.9%
rank 58 of 307 reporting authorities · national median 91.4%
Rank 11 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
Major3190.3%100.0%
Minor22582.2%93.4%
Other60088.0%—
of which householder49488.5%98.5%
"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
01312612024 Q3: 249 received2024 Q3: 239 decided2024 Q32024 Q4: 235 received2024 Q4: 229 decided2025 Q1: 261 received2025 Q1: 227 decided2025 Q2: 251 received2025 Q2: 258 decided2025 Q3: 235 received2025 Q3: 232 decided2025 Q4: 206 received2025 Q4: 218 decided2026 Q1: 235 received2026 Q1: 201 decided2026 Q2: 224 received2026 Q2: 205 decided2026 Q2
▬ received   ▬ decided
Housing Delivery Test
HDT 2025 measurement, homes delivered against requirement over 2022/23 to 2024/25
34%
Presumption

Delivery below 75%: the NPPF presumption in favour of sustainable development applies to housing applications here. A material point for any housing proposal.

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 (E08000028). Missing values are shown as "—" and are never estimated or filled from another period.
DatasetPublisherCovers this authorityLoadedOfficial source
Planning application decisions (PS2)MHCLG1987 Q4 to 2026 Q2 (147 quarters)25 Oct 2026 · 68,583 rows nationallyLive tables
Planning application flow (PS1)MHCLG1987 Q4 to 2026 Q2 (147 quarters)25 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 205 178 27 13.2% 100.0% 96.8% 224
2026 Q1 201 166 35 17.4% 100.0% 91.2% 235
2025 Q4 218 198 20 9.2% 100.0% 90.3% 206
2025 Q3 232 199 33 14.2% 100.0% 95.0% 235
2025 Q2 258 222 36 14.0% 100.0% 100.0% 251
2025 Q1 227 202 25 11.0% 100.0% 95.8% 261
2024 Q4 229 196 33 14.4% — 97.3% 235
2024 Q3 239 205 34 14.2% 100.0% 96.6% 249
2024 Q2 185 162 23 12.4% 100.0% 96.3% 214
2024 Q1 227 199 28 12.3% 100.0% 86.5% 244
2023 Q4 249 224 25 10.0% 0.0% 88.7% 230
2023 Q3 220 200 20 9.1% 100.0% 84.1% 243
2023 Q2 242 222 20 8.3% 100.0% 82.6% 256
2023 Q1 254 226 28 11.0% 100.0% 92.7% 270
2022 Q4 316 288 28 8.9% 100.0% 91.1% 253
2022 Q3 296 264 32 10.8% 66.7% 86.1% 328
2022 Q2 302 279 23 7.6% 100.0% 93.1% 305
2022 Q1 264 242 22 8.3% 100.0% 94.0% 338
2021 Q4 328 293 35 10.7% 100.0% 80.0% 273
2021 Q3 278 256 22 7.9% 100.0% 82.9% 330
2021 Q2 316 294 22 7.0% 100.0% 89.4% 296
2021 Q1 302 270 32 10.6% 83.3% 91.7% 303
2020 Q4 274 266 8 2.9% 100.0% 94.1% 288
2020 Q3 229 219 10 4.4% 100.0% 92.5% 293
2020 Q2 238 222 16 6.7% 100.0% 91.9% 203
2020 Q1 212 191 21 9.9% 85.7% 82.9% 283
2019 Q4 275 254 21 7.6% 66.7% 93.6% 244
2019 Q3 255 238 17 6.7% 80.0% 83.0% 297
2019 Q2 346 322 24 6.9% 83.3% 82.4% 277
2019 Q1 250 237 13 5.2% 100.0% 97.7% 394
2018 Q4 252 240 12 4.8% 100.0% 90.7% 246
2018 Q3 265 232 33 12.5% 85.7% 94.0% 268
2018 Q2 275 258 17 6.2% 60.0% 83.9% 276
2018 Q1 246 225 21 8.5% 71.4% 84.1% 306
2017 Q4 279 258 21 7.5% 100.0% 92.8% 275
2017 Q3 324 299 25 7.7% 92.3% 88.1% 295
2017 Q2 286 270 16 5.6% 100.0% 95.9% 340
2017 Q1 226 219 7 3.1% 72.7% 87.7% 290
2016 Q4 269 252 17 6.3% 75.0% 81.2% 243
2016 Q3 378 358 20 5.3% 80.0% 90.1% 324
2016 Q2 286 270 16 5.6% 81.3% 89.8% 368
2016 Q1 304 295 9 3.0% 84.6% 83.9% 347
2015 Q4 274 257 17 6.2% 86.7% 84.6% 264
2015 Q3 280 271 9 3.2% 68.8% 85.9% 283
2015 Q2 226 218 8 3.5% 91.7% 81.5% 261
2015 Q1 241 229 12 5.0% 84.0% 83.6% 272
2014 Q4 249 228 21 8.4% 87.5% 85.5% 246
2014 Q3 305 285 20 6.6% 72.7% 72.5% 281
2014 Q2 245 229 16 6.5% 84.6% 86.6% 304
2014 Q1 229 217 9 3.9% 92.3% 81.2% 272
2013 Q4 328 311 14 4.3% 92.0% 85.7% 256
2013 Q3 309 296 13 4.2% 100.0% 83.3% 344
2013 Q2 314 291 18 5.7% 90.0% 78.8% 316
2013 Q1 222 207 14 6.3% 85.0% 67.8% 292
2012 Q4 306 283 20 6.5% 85.0% 79.5% 276
2012 Q3 391 352 32 8.2% 77.8% 84.9% 393
2012 Q2 288 261 24 8.3% 87.5% 84.4% 346
2012 Q1 263 238 20 7.6% 64.7% 80.6% 305
2011 Q4 302 270 29 9.6% 76.5% 80.4% 266
2011 Q3 327 294 31 9.5% 86.7% 88.0% 347
2011 Q2 294 267 25 8.5% 57.1% 73.5% 305
2011 Q1 238 207 27 11.3% 90.0% 79.5% 288
2010 Q4 306 263 40 13.1% 75.0% 74.7% 282
2010 Q3 346 297 47 13.6% 80.0% 68.9% 315
2010 Q2 286 255 27 9.4% 75.0% 79.2% 271
2010 Q1 209 184 23 11.0% 75.0% 75.0% 283
2009 Q4 323 284 39 12.1% 78.6% 83.3% 269
2009 Q3 387 336 49 12.7% 80.0% 80.9% 362
2009 Q2 312 255 56 17.9% 73.3% 81.3% 340
2009 Q1 262 222 39 14.9% 47.4% 75.4% 318
2008 Q4 355 300 53 14.9% 47.1% 74.5% 297
2008 Q3 382 316 64 16.8% 55.6% 68.4% 367
2008 Q2 375 297 76 20.3% 56.5% 75.0% 408
2008 Q1 329 223 56 17.0% 75.0% 80.4% 382
2007 Q4 412 300 58 14.1% 71.4% 71.0% 360
2007 Q3 399 278 72 18.0% 61.1% 74.3% 437
2007 Q2 428 323 51 11.9% 77.3% 73.8% 433
2007 Q1 394 258 64 16.2% 65.4% 78.0% 423
2006 Q4 383 286 54 14.1% 64.0% 73.5% 405
2006 Q3 404 305 50 12.4% 66.7% 74.1% 419
2006 Q2 376 282 61 16.2% 72.7% 81.7% 434
2006 Q1 389 280 70 18.0% 69.6% 82.9% 400
2005 Q4 443 317 60 13.5% 78.6% 71.2% 408
2005 Q3 422 336 51 12.1% 64.3% 67.8% 441
2005 Q2 516 389 62 12.0% 63.2% 67.1% 463
2005 Q1 413 282 53 12.8% 69.0% 58.2% 559
2004 Q4 546 395 81 14.8% 53.8% 76.8% 470
2004 Q3 483 346 80 16.6% 56.5% 79.7% 536
2004 Q2 488 372 50 10.2% 63.3% 63.4% 483
2004 Q1 473 363 56 11.8% 61.5% 75.0% 512
2003 Q4 409 336 48 11.7% 69.2% 76.7% 456
2003 Q3 554 419 89 16.1% 66.7% 75.0% 423
2003 Q2 391 317 61 15.6% 66.7% 65.9% 474
2003 Q1 342 302 40 11.7% 40.0% 70.9% 415
2002 Q4 491 425 52 10.6% 52.8% 66.9% 389
2002 Q3 394 345 37 9.4% 16.7% 47.8% 465
2002 Q2 379 330 36 9.5% 30.0% 57.4% 404
2002 Q1 309 270 27 8.7% 53.8% 69.6% 398
2001 Q4 378 321 27 7.1% 38.5% 59.1% 374
2001 Q3 403 353 24 6.0% 22.2% 52.4% 373
2001 Q2 357 316 23 6.4% 29.4% 56.7% 395
2001 Q1 309 281 11 3.6% 50.0% 62.0% 379
2000 Q4 362 320 16 4.4% 40.0% 72.3% 343
2000 Q3 321 292 13 4.0% 33.3% 70.1% 356
2000 Q2 348 334 11 3.2% 60.0% 70.4% 337
2000 Q1 341 326 8 2.3% 64.7% 72.5% 387
1999 Q4 383 345 14 3.7% 81.3% 62.0% 322
1999 Q3 311 280 13 4.2% 66.7% 61.3% 366
1999 Q2 311 276 19 6.1% 52.9% 51.5% 302
1999 Q1 320 277 33 10.3% 91.7% 60.4% 342
1998 Q4 313 288 14 4.5% 66.7% 69.3% 310
1998 Q3 355 325 21 5.9% 87.5% 55.7% 325
1998 Q2 323 286 31 9.6% 32.0% 57.0% 357
1996 Q1 318 287 31 9.7% 20.0% 55.8% —
1995 Q4 305 276 29 9.5% 60.0% 35.1% —
1995 Q3 355 331 24 6.8% 50.0% 46.7% —
1995 Q2 412 369 43 10.4% 68.8% 43.0% —
1995 Q1 377 324 53 14.1% 38.5% 68.8% —
1994 Q4 371 324 47 12.7% 63.6% 66.1% —
1994 Q3 346 313 33 9.5% 66.7% 52.8% —
1994 Q2 419 377 42 10.0% 53.8% 63.2% —
1994 Q1 334 297 37 11.1% 71.4% 54.5% —
1993 Q4 386 347 39 10.1% 59.1% 65.5% —
1993 Q3 379 338 41 10.8% 66.7% 71.7% —
1993 Q2 400 361 39 9.8% 42.9% 75.4% —
1993 Q1 337 289 48 14.2% 55.6% 68.6% —
1992 Q4 359 315 44 12.3% 63.6% 65.1% —
1992 Q3 434 349 85 19.6% 50.0% 67.4% —
1992 Q2 429 370 59 13.8% 55.6% 72.6% —
1992 Q1 410 349 61 14.9% 45.5% 66.0% —
1991 Q4 411 359 52 12.7% 50.0% 61.0% —
1991 Q3 460 375 85 18.5% 75.0% 62.9% —
1991 Q2 487 410 77 15.8% 70.0% 49.1% —
1991 Q1 426 345 81 19.0% 58.8% 33.5% —
1990 Q4 365 262 103 28.2% 60.0% 61.0% —
1990 Q3 440 348 92 20.9% 53.8% 55.5% —
1990 Q2 494 389 105 21.3% 54.2% 61.4% —
1990 Q1 522 415 107 20.5% 52.0% 34.3% —
1989 Q4 507 371 136 26.8% 35.3% 39.3% —
1989 Q3 485 391 94 19.4% 50.0% 34.2% —
1989 Q2 558 430 128 22.9% 68.4% 40.6% —
1989 Q1 564 409 155 27.5% 65.2% 44.9% —
1988 Q4 550 426 124 22.5% 48.0% 48.1% —
1988 Q3 520 412 108 20.8% 80.0% 33.7% —
1988 Q2 534 419 115 21.5% 88.9% 47.4% —
1988 Q1 501 406 95 19.0% 70.6% 47.3% —
1987 Q4 410 339 71 17.3% 75.0% 51.9% —

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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