Planning Approval Rate in North Northamptonshire
North Northamptonshire is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 86% of applications and decides 86.5% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #208 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in North Northamptonshire, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across North Northamptonshire Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,155 decisions (993 granted, 162 refused).
How North Northamptonshire compares
| North Northamptonshire | 86% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
North Northamptonshire is about average for England.
How hard is it to get planning permission in North Northamptonshire?
North Northamptonshire is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 86% of the applications it decides (rank 208th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 86% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 31st most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 162 of its 1,155 decisions were refusals (14%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 90.3% of major developments approved versus 85.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 62 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 86.5% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 1,155 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its East Midlands neighbours it sits between High Peak (86.2%, more approving) and Ashfield (85.5%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare North Northamptonshire with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in North Northamptonshire
Live planning activity in North Northamptonshire Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 25 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in North Northamptonshire Council
Where planning activity concentrates in North Northamptonshire Council
Recent applications in North Northamptonshire Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch North Northamptonshire page.
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Planning permission in North Northamptonshire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in North Northamptonshire?
On the latest official figures North Northamptonshire is close to the England average and in the stricter third of English authorities, approving 86% of the 1,155 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does North Northamptonshire approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 86% approved and 14% refused — 993 granted and 162 refused of 1,155 decisions, with major schemes approved at 90.3% and householder and other work at 85.7%.
How quickly does North Northamptonshire decide planning applications?
On timing North Northamptonshire is a little slower than average: 86.5% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is North Northamptonshire stricter than nearby councils?
North Northamptonshire's 86% approval rate makes it the 31st most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring High Peak approves 86.2% and Ashfield 85.5%.
Can I use North Northamptonshire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application North Northamptonshire 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 North Northamptonshire 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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