Planning Approval Rate in Stratford-on-Avon
Stratford-on-Avon is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 90.6% of applications and decides 89.6% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #114 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Stratford-on-Avon, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Stratford-on-Avon District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,287 decisions (1,166 granted, 121 refused).
How Stratford-on-Avon compares
| Stratford-on-Avon | 90.6% |
| West Midlands average | 87.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Stratford-on-Avon is 3.6 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Stratford-on-Avon?
Stratford-on-Avon is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 90.6% of the applications it decides (rank 114th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 90.6% approved against an England average of 87%. Within West Midlands it is the 12th most approving of 30 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 121 of its 1,287 decisions were refusals (9.4%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 79.6% of major developments approved versus 93.8% of householder and other small-scale work, from 49 major decisions.
On timing it is about average on speed, deciding 89.6% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,287 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 East Staffordshire (92.5%, more approving) and Telford and Wrekin (90.2%, stricter). For context in West Midlands, Redditch approves the most (96.2%) and Lichfield the least (79.7%).
Compare Stratford-on-Avon with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in West Midlands. See the full West Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Stratford-on-Avon
Live planning activity in Stratford-on-Avon District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 25 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Recent applications in Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Stratford-on-Avon page.
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Planning permission in Stratford-on-Avon: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Stratford-on-Avon?
On the latest official figures Stratford-on-Avon is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 90.6% of the 1,287 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Stratford-on-Avon approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 90.6% approved and 9.4% refused — 1,166 granted and 121 refused of 1,287 decisions, with major schemes approved at 79.6% and householder and other work at 93.8%.
How quickly does Stratford-on-Avon decide planning applications?
On timing Stratford-on-Avon is about average on speed: 89.6% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Stratford-on-Avon stricter than nearby councils?
Stratford-on-Avon's 90.6% approval rate makes it the 12th most approving of 30 authorities in West Midlands, against a 87.8% regional average. Neighbouring East Staffordshire approves 92.5% and Telford and Wrekin 90.2%.
Can I use Stratford-on-Avon's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Stratford-on-Avon 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 Stratford-on-Avon District 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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