Planning Approval Rate in Rushcliffe
Rushcliffe is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 90.8% of applications and decides 88.4% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #111 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Rushcliffe, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Rushcliffe Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 785 decisions (713 granted, 72 refused).
How Rushcliffe compares
| Rushcliffe | 90.8% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Rushcliffe is 3.8 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Rushcliffe?
Rushcliffe is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 90.8% of the applications it decides (rank 111th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 90.8% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 18th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 72 of its 785 decisions were refusals (9.2%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 90% of major developments approved versus 93.2% of householder and other small-scale work, from 30 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 88.4% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 785 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 Boston (90.9%, more approving) and Blaby (90.8%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare Rushcliffe with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Rushcliffe
Live planning activity in Rushcliffe Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 5 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Rushcliffe Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Rushcliffe Borough Council
Recent applications in Rushcliffe Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Rushcliffe page.
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Planning permission in Rushcliffe: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Rushcliffe?
On the latest official figures Rushcliffe is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 90.8% of the 785 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Rushcliffe approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 90.8% approved and 9.2% refused — 713 granted and 72 refused of 785 decisions, with major schemes approved at 90% and householder and other work at 93.2%.
How quickly does Rushcliffe decide planning applications?
On timing Rushcliffe is a little slower than average: 88.4% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Rushcliffe stricter than nearby councils?
Rushcliffe's 90.8% approval rate makes it the 18th most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Boston approves 90.9% and Blaby 90.8%.
Can I use Rushcliffe's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Rushcliffe 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 Rushcliffe 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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