Planning Approval Rate in Rossendale
Rossendale is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 88.3% of applications and decides 91.3% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #161 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Rossendale, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Rossendale Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 231 decisions (204 granted, 27 refused).
How Rossendale compares
| Rossendale | 88.3% |
| North West average | 88.3% |
| England average | 87% |
Rossendale is 1.3 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Rossendale?
Rossendale is a little stricter than the median English authority, granting 88.3% of the applications it decides (rank 161st of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 88.3% approved against an England average of 87%. Within North West it is the 15th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 88.3%. Refusals are uncommon here: 27 of its 231 decisions were refusals (11.7%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 87.5% of major developments approved versus 91.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 8 major decisions.
On timing it is about average on speed, deciding 91.3% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 231 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 Salford (89.5%, more approving) and Oldham (88.2%, stricter). For context in North West, Cumberland approves the most (96.8%) and Warrington the least (76.2%).
Compare Rossendale with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in North West. See the full North West league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Rossendale
Live planning activity in Rossendale Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 11 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Rossendale Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Rossendale Borough Council
Recent applications in Rossendale Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Rossendale page.
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Planning permission in Rossendale: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Rossendale?
On the latest official figures Rossendale is close to the England average and a little stricter than the median English authority, approving 88.3% of the 231 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Rossendale approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 88.3% approved and 11.7% refused — 204 granted and 27 refused of 231 decisions, with major schemes approved at 87.5% and householder and other work at 91.7%.
How quickly does Rossendale decide planning applications?
On timing Rossendale is about average on speed: 91.3% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Rossendale stricter than nearby councils?
Rossendale's 88.3% approval rate makes it the 15th most approving of 35 authorities in North West, against a 88.3% regional average. Neighbouring Salford approves 89.5% and Oldham 88.2%.
Can I use Rossendale's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Rossendale 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 Rossendale 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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