Planning Approval Rate in Herefordshire, County of

Herefordshire, County of is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 93.5% of the applications it decides (rank 53rd of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 93.5% approved against an England average of 87%. Within West Midlands it is the 6th most approving of 30 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 90 of its 1,389 decisions were refusals (6.5%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 82.6% of major developments approved versus 94.9% of householder and other small-scale work, from 46 major decisions.

On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 81% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,389 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 Solihull (94.1%, more approving) and Newcastle-under-Lyme (93.5%, stricter). For context in West Midlands, Redditch approves the most (96.2%) and Lichfield the least (79.7%).