Planning Approval Rate in Stafford
Stafford is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 87.3% of applications and decides 68.8% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #176 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Stafford, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Stafford Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 487 decisions (425 granted, 62 refused).
How Stafford compares
| Stafford | 87.3% |
| West Midlands average | 87.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Stafford is about average for England.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Stafford?
Stafford is a little stricter than the median English authority, granting 87.3% of the applications it decides (rank 176th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 87.3% approved against an England average of 87%. Within West Midlands it is the 18th most approving of 30 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.8%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 62 of its 487 decisions were refusals (12.7%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 88.5% of major developments approved versus 89.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 26 major decisions.
On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 68.8% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 487 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its West Midlands neighbours it sits between Sandwell (87.8%, more approving) and Shropshire (87%, stricter). For context in West Midlands, Redditch approves the most (96.2%) and Lichfield the least (79.7%).
Compare Stafford with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in West Midlands. See the full West Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Stafford
Live planning activity in Stafford Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 13 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Stafford Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Stafford Borough Council
Recent applications in Stafford Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Stafford page.
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Planning permission in Stafford: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Stafford?
On the latest official figures Stafford is close to the England average and a little stricter than the median English authority, approving 87.3% of the 487 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Stafford approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 87.3% approved and 12.7% refused — 425 granted and 62 refused of 487 decisions, with major schemes approved at 88.5% and householder and other work at 89.7%.
How quickly does Stafford decide planning applications?
On timing Stafford is among the slower authorities: 68.8% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Stafford stricter than nearby councils?
Stafford's 87.3% approval rate makes it the 18th most approving of 30 authorities in West Midlands, against a 87.8% regional average. Neighbouring Sandwell approves 87.8% and Shropshire 87%.
Can I use Stafford's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Stafford 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 Stafford 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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