Planning Approval Rate in Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89.9% of applications and decides 94.7% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #128 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Cannock Chase, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Cannock Chase District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 247 decisions (222 granted, 25 refused).
How Cannock Chase compares
| Cannock Chase | 89.9% |
| West Midlands average | 87.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Cannock Chase is 2.9 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Cannock Chase?
Cannock Chase is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89.9% of the applications it decides (rank 128th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89.9% approved against an England average of 87%. Within West Midlands it is the 15th most approving of 30 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 25 of its 247 decisions were refusals (10.1%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 92.3% of major developments approved versus 90.3% of householder and other small-scale work, from 13 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 94.7% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 247 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its West Midlands neighbours it sits between Warwick (90%, more approving) and Wolverhampton (88.7%, stricter). For context in West Midlands, Redditch approves the most (96.2%) and Lichfield the least (79.7%).
Compare Cannock Chase with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in West Midlands. See the full West Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Cannock Chase
Live planning activity in Cannock Chase District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 18 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Cannock Chase District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Cannock Chase District Council
Recent applications in Cannock Chase District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Cannock Chase page.
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Planning permission in Cannock Chase: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Cannock Chase?
On the latest official figures Cannock Chase is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89.9% of the 247 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Cannock Chase approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89.9% approved and 10.1% refused — 222 granted and 25 refused of 247 decisions, with major schemes approved at 92.3% and householder and other work at 90.3%.
How quickly does Cannock Chase decide planning applications?
On timing Cannock Chase is a little faster than average: 94.7% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Cannock Chase stricter than nearby councils?
Cannock Chase's 89.9% approval rate makes it the 15th most approving of 30 authorities in West Midlands, against a 87.8% regional average. Neighbouring Warwick approves 90% and Wolverhampton 88.7%.
Can I use Cannock Chase's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Cannock Chase decided, not a prediction for any individual application; your outcome depends on the site, the proposal, local planning policy and any objections.
Methodology & limits
Approval, refusal and in-time rates come from the government's official PS2 planning application statistics (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government), covering 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. This dataset is England-only and published annually, so it lags live activity. Live figures are the applications PlanWatch has collected for Cannock Chase District Council and are not a complete council register. Refusal reasons and delegated-vs-committee splits are not published in this data.
This is a historic average, not a prediction. It cannot tell you whether your application will be approved — that depends on your site, proposal, local policy and any objections.
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