Planning Approval Rate in North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 94.3% of applications and decides 85.6% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #36 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in North West Leicestershire, 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 West Leicestershire District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 540 decisions (509 granted, 31 refused).
How North West Leicestershire compares
| North West Leicestershire | 94.3% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
North West Leicestershire is 7.3 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in North West Leicestershire?
North West Leicestershire is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 94.3% of the applications it decides (rank 36th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 94.3% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 7th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 31 of its 540 decisions were refusals (5.7%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 96.9% of major developments approved versus 97.5% of householder and other small-scale work, from 32 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 85.6% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 540 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 Lincoln (95.1%, more approving) and Erewash (94.1%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare North West Leicestershire 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 West Leicestershire
Live planning activity in North West Leicestershire District 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 West Leicestershire District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in North West Leicestershire District Council
Recent applications in North West Leicestershire District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch North West Leicestershire page.
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Planning permission in North West Leicestershire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in North West Leicestershire?
On the latest official figures North West Leicestershire is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 94.3% of the 540 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does North West Leicestershire approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 94.3% approved and 5.7% refused — 509 granted and 31 refused of 540 decisions, with major schemes approved at 96.9% and householder and other work at 97.5%.
How quickly does North West Leicestershire decide planning applications?
On timing North West Leicestershire is a little slower than average: 85.6% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is North West Leicestershire stricter than nearby councils?
North West Leicestershire's 94.3% approval rate makes it the 7th most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Lincoln approves 95.1% and Erewash 94.1%.
Can I use North West Leicestershire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application North West Leicestershire 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 West Leicestershire 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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