Planning Approval Rate in Three Rivers
Three Rivers is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89.1% of applications and decides 98.6% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #146 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Three Rivers, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Three Rivers District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 853 decisions (760 granted, 93 refused).
How Three Rivers compares
| Three Rivers | 89.1% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
Three Rivers is 2.1 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Three Rivers?
Three Rivers is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89.1% of the applications it decides (rank 146th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89.1% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 16th most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are uncommon here: 93 of its 853 decisions were refusals (10.9%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 81.3% of major developments approved versus 90.1% of householder and other small-scale work, from 16 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 98.6% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 853 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its East of England neighbours it sits between King's Lynn and West Norfolk (89.3%, more approving) and Dacorum (89%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare Three Rivers with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East of England. See the full East of England league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Three Rivers
Live planning activity in Three Rivers 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 Three Rivers District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Three Rivers District Council
Recent applications in Three Rivers District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Three Rivers page.
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Planning permission in Three Rivers: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Three Rivers?
On the latest official figures Three Rivers is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89.1% of the 853 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Three Rivers approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89.1% approved and 10.9% refused — 760 granted and 93 refused of 853 decisions, with major schemes approved at 81.3% and householder and other work at 90.1%.
How quickly does Three Rivers decide planning applications?
On timing Three Rivers is among the faster authorities: 98.6% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Three Rivers stricter than nearby councils?
Three Rivers's 89.1% approval rate makes it the 16th most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring King's Lynn and West Norfolk approves 89.3% and Dacorum 89%.
Can I use Three Rivers's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Three Rivers 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 Three Rivers 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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