Planning Approval Rate in Central Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire is somewhat stricter than the England average for planning permission: it approves 83.6% of applications and decides 96% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #243 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Central Bedfordshire, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Central Bedfordshire Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,482 decisions (1,239 granted, 243 refused).
How Central Bedfordshire compares
| Central Bedfordshire | 83.6% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
Central Bedfordshire is 3.4 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Central Bedfordshire?
Central Bedfordshire is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 83.6% of the applications it decides (rank 243rd of 310). That puts it somewhat stricter than the England average — 83.6% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 31st most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 243 of its 1,482 decisions were refusals (16.4%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 75.3% of major developments approved versus 88.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 85 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 96% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,482 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its East of England neighbours it sits between Breckland (84%, more approving) and Peterborough (83.6%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare Central Bedfordshire with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East of England. See the full East of England league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Central Bedfordshire
Live planning activity in Central Bedfordshire Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 21 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Central Bedfordshire Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Central Bedfordshire Council
Recent applications in Central Bedfordshire Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Central Bedfordshire page.
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Planning permission in Central Bedfordshire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Central Bedfordshire?
On the latest official figures Central Bedfordshire is somewhat stricter than the England average and in the stricter third of English authorities, approving 83.6% of the 1,482 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Central Bedfordshire approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 83.6% approved and 16.4% refused — 1,239 granted and 243 refused of 1,482 decisions, with major schemes approved at 75.3% and householder and other work at 88.7%.
How quickly does Central Bedfordshire decide planning applications?
On timing Central Bedfordshire is a little faster than average: 96% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Central Bedfordshire stricter than nearby councils?
Central Bedfordshire's 83.6% approval rate makes it the 31st most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Breckland approves 84% and Peterborough 83.6%.
Can I use Central Bedfordshire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Central Bedfordshire 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 Central Bedfordshire 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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