Planning Approval Rate in Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar and Cleveland is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 96.7% of applications and decides 88.5% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #5 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Redcar and Cleveland, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 425 decisions (411 granted, 14 refused).
How Redcar and Cleveland compares
| Redcar and Cleveland | 96.7% |
| North East average | 91.7% |
| England average | 87% |
Redcar and Cleveland is 9.7 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Redcar and Cleveland?
Redcar and Cleveland is among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, granting 96.7% of the applications it decides (rank 5th of 310). That puts it markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council — 96.7% approved against an England average of 87%. Within North East it is the most approving of 14 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 91.7%. Refusals are rare here: 14 of its 425 decisions were refusals (3.3%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 96.7% of major developments approved versus 97% of householder and other small-scale work, from 30 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 88.5% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 425 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. It is more approving than its nearest North East peer by rank, North Tyneside (96%). At the other end of North East, Middlesbrough is the strictest authority, approving 77.2%.
Compare Redcar and Cleveland with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in North East. See the full North East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Redcar and Cleveland
Live planning activity in Redcar and Cleveland 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 Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Recent applications in Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Redcar and Cleveland page.
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Planning permission in Redcar and Cleveland: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Redcar and Cleveland?
On the latest official figures Redcar and Cleveland is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council and among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, approving 96.7% of the 425 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Redcar and Cleveland approve or refuse?
Refusals are rare here: 96.7% approved and 3.3% refused — 411 granted and 14 refused of 425 decisions, with major schemes approved at 96.7% and householder and other work at 97%.
How quickly does Redcar and Cleveland decide planning applications?
On timing Redcar and Cleveland is a little slower than average: 88.5% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Redcar and Cleveland stricter than nearby councils?
Redcar and Cleveland's 96.7% approval rate makes it the most approving of 14 authorities in North East, against a 91.7% regional average. Neighbouring North Tyneside approves 96%.
Can I use Redcar and Cleveland's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Redcar and Cleveland 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 Redcar and Cleveland 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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