Planning Approval Rate in Chorley
Chorley is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 93% of applications and decides 97% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #67 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Chorley, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Chorley Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 570 decisions (530 granted, 40 refused).
How Chorley compares
| Chorley | 93% |
| North West average | 88.3% |
| England average | 87% |
Chorley is 6 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Chorley?
Chorley is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 93% of the applications it decides (rank 67th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 93% approved against an England average of 87%. Within North West it is the 11th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 88.3%. Refusals are uncommon here: 40 of its 570 decisions were refusals (7%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 100% of major developments approved versus 93.1% of householder and other small-scale work, from 10 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 97% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 570 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its North West neighbours it sits between Cheshire West and Chester (93.1%, more approving) and Westmorland and Furness (92.2%, stricter). For context in North West, Cumberland approves the most (96.8%) and Warrington the least (76.2%).
Compare Chorley with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in North West. See the full North West league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Chorley
Live planning activity in Chorley Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 3 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Chorley Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Chorley Borough Council
Recent applications in Chorley Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Chorley page.
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Planning permission in Chorley: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Chorley?
On the latest official figures Chorley is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 93% of the 570 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Chorley approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 93% approved and 7% refused — 530 granted and 40 refused of 570 decisions, with major schemes approved at 100% and householder and other work at 93.1%.
How quickly does Chorley decide planning applications?
On timing Chorley is among the faster authorities: 97% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Chorley stricter than nearby councils?
Chorley's 93% approval rate makes it the 11th most approving of 35 authorities in North West, against a 88.3% regional average. Neighbouring Cheshire West and Chester approves 93.1% and Westmorland and Furness 92.2%.
Can I use Chorley's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Chorley 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 Chorley Borough 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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