Planning Approval Rate in Runnymede
Runnymede is somewhat stricter than the England average for planning permission: it approves 82.6% of applications and decides 96.3% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #254 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Runnymede, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Runnymede Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 720 decisions (595 granted, 125 refused).
How Runnymede compares
| Runnymede | 82.6% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Runnymede is 4.4 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Runnymede?
Runnymede is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 82.6% of the applications it decides (rank 254th of 310). That puts it somewhat stricter than the England average — 82.6% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 54th most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 125 of its 720 decisions were refusals (17.4%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 78.3% of major developments approved versus 86.1% of householder and other small-scale work, from 23 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 96.3% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 720 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its South East neighbours it sits between Folkestone and Hythe (82.7%, more approving) and Maidstone (82%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare Runnymede with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Runnymede
Live planning activity in Runnymede 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 Runnymede Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Runnymede Borough Council
Recent applications in Runnymede Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Runnymede page.
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Planning permission in Runnymede: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Runnymede?
On the latest official figures Runnymede is somewhat stricter than the England average and in the stricter third of English authorities, approving 82.6% of the 720 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Runnymede approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 82.6% approved and 17.4% refused — 595 granted and 125 refused of 720 decisions, with major schemes approved at 78.3% and householder and other work at 86.1%.
How quickly does Runnymede decide planning applications?
On timing Runnymede is a little faster than average: 96.3% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Runnymede stricter than nearby councils?
Runnymede's 82.6% approval rate makes it the 54th most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Folkestone and Hythe approves 82.7% and Maidstone 82%.
Can I use Runnymede's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Runnymede 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 Runnymede 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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