Planning Approval Rate in West Oxfordshire
West Oxfordshire is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 94.8% of applications and decides 96.9% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #27 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in West Oxfordshire, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across West Oxfordshire District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,147 decisions (1,087 granted, 60 refused).
How West Oxfordshire compares
| West Oxfordshire | 94.8% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
West Oxfordshire is 7.8 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in West Oxfordshire?
West Oxfordshire is among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, granting 94.8% of the applications it decides (rank 27th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 94.8% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 5th most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 60 of its 1,147 decisions were refusals (5.2%). On the split by scale it is far tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 78.8% of major developments approved versus 96.8% of householder and other small-scale work, from 33 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 96.9% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 1,147 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 Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (94.9%, more approving) and Wokingham (94.7%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare West Oxfordshire with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in West Oxfordshire
Live planning activity in West Oxfordshire District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 7 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in West Oxfordshire District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in West Oxfordshire District Council
Recent applications in West Oxfordshire District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch West Oxfordshire page.
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Planning permission in West Oxfordshire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in West Oxfordshire?
On the latest official figures West Oxfordshire is somewhat more approving than the England average and among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, approving 94.8% of the 1,147 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does West Oxfordshire approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 94.8% approved and 5.2% refused — 1,087 granted and 60 refused of 1,147 decisions, with major schemes approved at 78.8% and householder and other work at 96.8%.
How quickly does West Oxfordshire decide planning applications?
On timing West Oxfordshire is among the faster authorities: 96.9% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is West Oxfordshire stricter than nearby councils?
West Oxfordshire's 94.8% approval rate makes it the 5th most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Ebbsfleet Development Corporation approves 94.9% and Wokingham 94.7%.
Can I use West Oxfordshire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application West Oxfordshire 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 West Oxfordshire 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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