Official Statistics

Planning Inspectorate statistical release 17 July 2025

Published 17 July 2025

Applies to England

1. Introduction

This statistical release provides summary information on appeals, which represent the highest volume (in terms of number of cases) of the Planning Inspectorate’s work.

These statistics are produced each quarter, and the focus is on timeliness of decision-making, an area of particular interest for stakeholders. Information on the decisions that have been made is also included; and on the number of Inspectors available to make those decisions.

We have released two Excel files with tables at the same time as this report. The tables show the number of cases received, decided and allowed since 2010, broken down by case type.

Planning Inspectorate Quarterly and Annual Volume Statistics - GOV.UK

These statistics have been published to ensure everyone has equal access to the information and to support the Planning Inspectorate’s commitment to release information where possible.

This statistical bulletin provides:

• Appeals, decisions and events held, from July 2024 to June 2025
• The time taken to reach decisions
• The number of open cases
• The number of Inspectors
• The number of appeals received compared to decided in the last 5 years
• Percentage of allowed appeals

The Planning Inspectorate

The Planning Inspectorate makes decisions and provides recommendations and advice on a range of land use and planning-related issues across England.

The Planning Inspectorate deals with planning appeals, national infrastructure planning applications, examinations of local plans and other planning-related and specialist casework in England. The Planning Inspectorate is an executive agency, sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

1.1 Summary

Time to decide cases

The median decision time for cases decided in June was 24 weeks.

Median timeliness by procedure type is shown in the summary table below.

Procedure type	Last 12 months	June 2025
Written Representations	27 weeks	24 weeks
Hearings	29 weeks	23 weeks
Inquiries	32 weeks	34 weeks
All Cases	27 weeks	24 weeks

The median time for planning cases was 22 weeks in June 2025. The 12-month median was 25 weeks.

Enforcement decisions made in June 2025 had a median decision time of 66 weeks, with the 12-month median being 55 weeks.

The median time for planning appeals decided by inquiry under the Rosewell Process in June was 34 weeks and over the 12 months to June 2025 was 28 weeks.

Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate made 18,778 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,565 per month. The number of decisions in June 2025 was 1,762.

There were 17,366 decisions made on written representations during the last 12 months, with 1,692 in June 2025.

There were 978 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, with 47 in June 2025.

There were 434 decisions made on inquiries during the last 12 months, with 23 in June 2025.

Planning Inspectors

There were 448 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate at the end of June 2025.

2. Decisions, Events & Open Cases

The number of decisions issued in June 2025 was 1,762, with a monthly average of 1,565 over the past 12 months.

The number of events recorded for June 2025 was 1,788, with a monthly average of 1,582 over the past 12 months.

The median valid to decision time was 24 weeks in June 2025, as shown in Figure 1 and Table 1 below.

There are no clear trends for the number of events and decisions per month. However, the Christmas break typically impacts on the number of events arranged for December.

Figure 1: Number of events held , decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; July 2024 to June 2025.

Bar and Line chart showing data in Table 1 (below)

Source: Horizon

Table 1: Number of events held, decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; July 2024 to June 2025.

Note: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Events held	1,676	1,253	1,435	1,669	1,533	1,258	1,753	1,695	1,704	1,833	1,391	1,788	18,988
Decisions	1,684	1,514	1,327	1,536	1,577	1,418	1,559	1,596	1,727	1,538	1,540	1,762	18,778
Median	26.0	25.9	27.1	29.0	28.9	28.1	27.9	28.0	25.9	25.9	24.5	24.4	26.9

Source: Horizon

Figure 2 below shows the number of cases received, closed and open for each of the last 12 months. The number of cases closed has exceeded the number of cases received for most of the past 12 months, with the exception being September 2024.

Figure 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; July 2024 to June 2025.

Note: The number of cases closed is higher than the number of decisions, as it includes cases where an appeal is withdrawn, notice is withdrawn, or the appeal is turned away.

Bar and Line chart showing data in Table 2 (below)

Source: Horizon

Table 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; July 2024 to June 2025.

Note 1: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Note 2: There is a known anomaly that means that the number of open cases does not exactly follow the volumes of cases closed or received (for example the number of open cases can increase between months even though the number closed exceeded the number received). The main reasons for this have been identified and are detailed in the Background Quality Report.

Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Received	1,753	1,579	1,625	1,703	1,545	1,545	1,531	1,489	1,475	1,520	1,586	1,495	18,846
Closed	1,866	1,664	1,497	1,727	1,752	1,581	1,735	1,773	1,910	1,688	1,722	1,962	20,877
Open	13,419	13,268	13,311	13,312	13,101	13,038	12,834	12,610	12,142	12,001	11,891	11,368

Source: Horizon

3. Number of Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 18,778 appeal decisions in the last 12 months. There were 1,762 cases decided in June 2025.

Table 3 below shows the monthly breakdown with the highest number of decisions in June 2025 and lowest in September 2024.

Table 3: Appeal Decisions; July 2024 to June 2025.

Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Decisions	1,684	1,514	1,327	1,536	1,577	1,418	1,559	1,596	1,727	1,538	1,540	1,762	18,778

Source: Horizon

Figure 3 – Appeal Decisions; July 2024 to June 2025.

Bar and Line chart showing data in Table 3 (above)

Source: Horizon

Decisions by procedure and case type

Planning Inspectors work on a broader range of work than the appeals featured in this release. For example, they also work on examining Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project applications, Local Plans , Compulsory Purchase Order applications and many other specialist licencing/ application types.

Table 4 below gives the numbers of appeal decisions made broken down by whether the case was dealt with by written representations, hearings, or inquiries.

The large majority of decisions over the past 12 months (17,366) were made on written representations. This is 92% of all appeal decisions made. Table 4 shows that written representation decisions have varied from 1,238 to 1,692 per month over the past 12 months.

There were 978 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, the monthly average being 82. During June 2025, 47 decisions were made for hearings. In June 2025, 23 decisions were made for inquiries. Decisions for inquiries per month over the last 12 months have ranged between 22 and 65.

Table 4: Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; July 2024 to June 2025

Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Written Representations	1,558	1,391	1,238	1,420	1,454	1,302	1,416	1,440	1,580	1,455	1,420	1,692	17,366
Hearings	67	95	67	85	77	86	115	91	109	63	76	47	978
Inquiries	59	28	22	31	46	30	28	65	38	20	44	23	434
Total	1,684	1,514	1,327	1,536	1,577	1,418	1,559	1,596	1,727	1,538	1,540	1,762	18,778
Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Planning	1,447	1,278	1,144	1,249	1,331	1,171	1,254	1,313	1,436	1,288	1,255	1,459	15,625
Enforcement	173	173	138	213	189	196	229	226	242	195	206	203	2,383
Specialist	64	63	45	74	57	51	76	57	49	55	79	100	770
Total	1,684	1,514	1,327	1,536	1,577	1,418	1,559	1,596	1,727	1,538	1,540	1,762	18,778

Source: Horizon

What are Planning cases? The Planning category includes s78 planning appeals, householder appeals, commercial appeals, listed building consent appeals, advertisement appeals, s106 planning obligation appeals and Called In Planning Applications.

What are Enforcement cases? Enforcement covers enforcement appeals (i.e., appeals against the issue of an enforcement notice served by a local planning authority for alleged breaches of planning control), enforcement listed building notice appeals and lawful development certificate appeals.

What are Specialist cases? Specialist casework includes Common Land, Rights of Way orders (including Schedule 14 cases), Purchase orders, Tree Preservation Orders, High Hedges appeals, Hedgerow appeals, Wayleave, Compulsory Purchase Orders, Secretary of State, Transport, Environmental Permitting Appeals and Coastal Access. Additional casework types have been added to this category over time

The large majority of cases decided over the past 12 months were planning (15,625). This is about 83% of all appeal decisions made. There were 2,383 Enforcement decisions and 770 specialist decisions. These totals are also shown in Table 4 above and Figure 4 below.

Trends for planning decisions show similar patterns to written representations. The average number of enforcement decisions over the past 12 months was 199. Specialist casework figures continue to vary each month, from a high of 100 in June 2025 to a low of 45 in September 2024.

Figure 4 – Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; July 2024 to June 2025

Source: Horizon

4. Decision timeliness

It is important for people to know how long an appeal is going to take, so that they can make informed plans and decisions. This section covers the timeliness of decisions (i.e., how long it takes to make a decision) across appeal casework. In addition to an overall measure, timeliness is analysed by procedure type and casework category, as timeliness varies a great deal depending on these characteristics.

The issue relating to valid to decision times for tree preservation Orders (TPOs) has been resolved. This means that TPO cases are no longer excluded from timeliness measures.

How is timeliness measured?

The time to make a decision is measured from the time the Inspectorate have enough information for the case to proceed (it is deemed ‘valid’) to the time a decision letter is issued. This means that any delay in ‘validating’ the appeal is included in the time to make a decision.

The decisions made in a given month will include those that started many months before, and thus do not give an accurate indication of how long appeals submitted, or deemed ‘valid’ in that month, will take.

Table 5 below shows that the median time to make a decision, across all cases in the last 12 months, was 27 weeks. The median time for decisions made in June 2025 was 24 weeks. Figure 5 shows the monthly median has ranged from 24 to 29 weeks over last 12 months.

Table 5 also shows the mean decision time for the last 12 months is 32 weeks. Each month the median is less than the mean, due to the impact of very long cases. This is illustrated in figure 5. Also included in the table is the standard deviation of decision timeliness, which is a measure of variation.

Table 5: Median, mean and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision; July 2024 to June 2025

Note 1: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information.

Note 2: This table now includes Tree Preservation Order cases as the valid date issue has been resolved

Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Valid to Decision (median weeks)	26.0	25.9	27.1	29.0	28.9	28.1	27.9	28.0	25.9	25.9	24.5	24.4	26.9
Valid to Decision (mean weeks)	30.6	29.9	30.6	33.4	34.3	36.2	33.5	32.7	31.1	30.9	31.3	31.7	32.2
Standard Deviation (weeks)	18.7	18.3	17.8	20.0	22.2	36.1	21.7	20.0	21.7	21.2	24.0	25.4	22.7

Source: Horizon

What are mean, median, and standard deviation?

Measure	Definition
Mean	The total time taken divided by the number of cases. Also referred to as the ‘average’. A measure of how long each case would take, if the total time taken was spread evenly across all cases.
Median	This is the time taken by the ‘middle’ case if all cases were sorted from quickest to longest
Standard deviation	This is a measure of variability or spread. It is calculated by examining how much each value differs from the mean. A higher standard deviation means the individual decision times vary more widely around the mean. A lower standard deviation would demonstrate greater consistency in the Planning Inspectorate’s decision timeliness.

Figure 5: Median and mean Time to Decision; July 2024 to June 2025.

Line chart showing data in Table 5 (above)

Source: Horizon

Procedure Type

Table 6 below shows decision timeliness broken down by the procedure type. Hearings and inquires have typically been more variable than written representations . Because over 90% of cases are by written representation, the timeliness measures for written representations are similar to the measure across all cases.

Where a small number of cases has been decided, the average timeliness (whether mean or median) is less meaningful as a measure than where there are many cases.

Median times are less affected by a small number of large values than mean times, so are the focus of this commentary. The median time for written representations over the 12 months to June 2025 is 27 weeks. The median time for hearings over the 12 months to June 2025 is 29 weeks. The median time to decide for inquiries over the 12 months to June 2025 was 32 weeks.

Table 6: Mean and Median Time to Decision, with Standard Deviation, by Procedure; July 2024 to June 2025.

Note 1: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Note 2: This table now includes Tree Preservation Order cases as the valid date issue has been resolved

Measure	Procedure	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Written Representations	25.7	25.6	27.3	29.0	28.9	28.0	27.6	27.9	25.4	26.0	24.1	24.4	26.7
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Hearings	27.6	38.5	23.9	30.1	34.9	35.4	35.4	27.1	26.9	24.1	23.6	23.0	28.6
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Inquiries	31.4	26.6	29.7	27.4	27.5	35.4	39.9	51.0	27.3	48.2	29.1	34.1	31.7
Valid to decision (median weeks)	All Cases	26.0	25.9	27.1	29.0	28.9	28.1	27.9	28.0	25.9	25.9	24.5	24.4	26.9
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Written Representations	29.7	28.9	29.7	32.6	33.5	32.2	32.6	31.6	30.0	30.4	31.1	31.5	31.1
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Hearings	39.5	41.9	44.0	45.3	51.3	91.4	36.0	41.7	44.6	31.9	29.2	27.7	44.6
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Inquiries	44.0	40.2	40.6	41.7	32.8	50.9	66.9	44.0	39.3	64.6	40.9	52.7	44.9
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	All Cases	30.6	29.9	30.6	33.4	34.3	36.2	33.5	32.7	31.1	30.9	31.3	31.7	32.2
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Written Representations	17.6	16.6	14.8	18.7	20.9	20.2	20.2	19.1	20.0	20.4	24.2	25.4	20.2
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Hearings	26.6	27.6	42.0	28.1	36.8	107.1	17.8	28.6	33.1	19.2	16.7	12.0	44.4
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Inquiries	27.6	36.7	25.7	33.3	18.4	32.4	55.9	17.5	30.5	44.0	26.5	37.3	32.4
Standard Deviation (weeks)	All Cases	18.7	18.3	17.8	20.0	22.2	36.1	21.7	20.0	21.7	21.2	24.0	25.4	22.7
Decisions	Written Representations	1,558	1,391	1,238	1,420	1,454	1,302	1,416	1,440	1,580	1,455	1,420	1,692	17,366
Decisions	Hearings	67	95	67	85	77	86	115	91	109	63	76	47	978
Decisions	Inquiries	59	28	22	31	46	30	28	65	38	20	44	23	434
Decisions	Total	1,684	1,514	1,327	1,536	1,577	1,418	1,559	1,596	1,727	1,538	1,540	1,762	18,778

Source: Horizon

The standard deviation information indicates that for all three procedures, there is considerable variation, meaning times are widely spread about the mean.

Casework Category

The nature of the cases the Planning Inspectorate deal with varies widely and several factors play a part in determining how long it takes to make a decision. One such factor is the type of casework. Table 7 below shows the time taken to decide, in planning cases, in enforcement cases, and in specialist cases, as does Figure 6.

The median time to decision for planning cases (there are many more of these decisions than in the other categories) is lower than for enforcement cases; and less variable than the times for specialist cases.

Table 7: Decisions, Mean, Median and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision – Planning, Enforcement, Specialist Cases; July 2024 to June 2025.

Note 1: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Note 2: This table now includes Tree Preservation Order cases as the valid date issue has been resolved

Appeal Type	Measure	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	24.6	24.1	26.1	27.1	26.9	26.0	26.4	25.9	23.7	23.9	22.7	22.3	25.0
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	26.6	25.6	27.5	28.3	28.7	27.5	27.6	26.8	25.1	25.1	24.5	24.4	26.4
Planning Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	12.6	11.7	12.5	11.4	13.3	12.7	11.9	11.0	12.1	12.6	13.6	14.4	12.6
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	56.4	45.6	40.1	52.9	70.1	56.0	54.1	51.0	55.6	59.6	52.6	65.9	54.9
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	57.6	53.1	49.8	56.4	65.9	80.0	60.8	60.1	60.3	63.3	61.5	68.1	61.7
Enforcement Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	29.4	26.3	30.5	28.4	30.1	73.2	33.3	28.0	31.8	28.7	33.5	36.7	36.9
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	45.0	48.3	51.0	52.0	64.1	67.1	44.6	70.7	69.0	36.4	62.9	67.5	56.9
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	48.6	55.3	52.0	56.7	62.8	73.6	50.8	65.9	66.6	52.5	62.2	68.1	59.5
Specialist Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	24.8	31.1	26.4	37.1	42.6	38.6	31.7	26.3	30.8	31.0	38.5	32.5	34.1

Source: Horizon

Annex A gives information on median and mean time to decision, with standard deviation, for the three procedure types, split by planning, enforcement, and specialist casework categories.

Enforcement decisions made in the past 12 months had a median decision time of 55 weeks.

There are considerably fewer specialist cases which means results are more liable to be distorted by extreme values.

Figure 6 – Median Time to Decision by Casework Category: July 2024 to June 2025

Line chart showing data in Table 7 (above)

Source: Horizon

Note that this release includes information on the mean and median times from valid to decision, for selected appeal types. The information published also breaks down the time for each stage of the process. See Annex B for further details.

Planning Inquiry Decisions

For planning appeals decided by the inquiry process, The Planning Inspectorate has been implementing recommendations from the Rosewell review.

The median time for inquiries under Rosewell process over the 12 months to June 2025 is 28 weeks and the median time to decision for June 2025 was 34 weeks.

Table 8: Decisions, Mean and Median Time to Decision, Planning Inquiry Cases under Rosewell Process; July 2024 to June 2025.

Note: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful.

Measure	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Decisions	25	12	10	14	27	10	11	23	15	12	18	15	192
Median (weeks)	31.4	24.0	33.0	28.2	27.4	29.4	24.0	25.1	27.0	28.1	28.5	34.0	27.6
Mean (weeks)	34.4	31.3	38.2	30.4	27.0	28.1	28.4	27.3	30.2	35.0	35.1	35.9	31.5
St. Dev. (weeks)	12.6	21.2	21.9	11.3	5.0	4.1	12.0	8.4	7.9	17.3	13.6	13.8	13.2

Source: Horizon

Most inquiry decisions now being issued are under the revised ‘Rosewell’ process but some inquiries, for example those that are linked together with associated enforcement cases, do not follow the Rosewell process.

Table 9: Decisions, Planning Inquiry Cases under non-Rosewell Process; July 2024 to June 2025

Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Decisions	3	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	4	2	14

Source: Horizon

Figure 7 below shows the mean and median time to decision for planning inquiry cases under the Rosewell process.

Figure 7: Mean and Median Time to Decision, Rosewell Inquiry Process; July 2024 to June 2025.

Line chart showing data in Table 8 (above)

Source: Horizon

5. Open Cases

At the end of June 2025, the Planning Inspectorate had 11,174 cases open. More information on how the number of open cases has changed over the past 12 months, is in Table 2 and Figure 2 above.

The open cases comprised of 10,373 cases being handled through written representations; 406 through hearings; and 395 through inquiries, as well as 194 not currently allocated a procedure type. This is not the number of ‘live’ hearings and inquiries since it includes cases where the event (hearing or inquiry) has yet to start, as well as those where the event has finished but the decision has yet to be issued.

Table 10: Open cases by procedure and stage, as of end of June 2025

Note 1: There are 194 cases that have no procedure type recorded (see Background Quality Report for more detail) These are excluded from the table above.

Note 2: There is a known anomaly that means that the number of open cases does not exactly follow the volumes of cases closed or received (for example the number of open cases can increase between months even though the number closed exceeded the number received). The main reasons for this have been identified and are detailed in the Background Quality Report.

Stage	WR	HRG	INQ	Total
Case received but yet to be deemed valid	256	14	1	271
Case deemed valid but yet to “start” [Note 1]	863	98	136	1,097
Case started but decision not yet issued	9,254	294	258	9,806
Total	10,373	406	395	11,174

Source: Horizon

6. Inspectors

Table 11 below shows the number of inspectors in the Planning Inspectorate in each month from July 2024 to June 2025. . This includes headcount (i.e. the number of different individuals) and full-time equivalents (FTE) where those working part time are counted in proportion with their contracted hours. There were 448 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in June 2025 – with a full-time equivalent of 405

Table 11: Planning Inspectors – Headcount and FTE; July 2024 to June 2025.(at end of month)

Month	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25
Headcount	438	436	433	433	431	431	457	457	457	455	452	448
FTE	396.5	394.8	392.8	392.7	390.9	391.1	414.7	415.1	414.8	412.3	408.7	404.5

Source: Employee Central

As above, Planning Inspectors work on a broader range of work than the appeals featured in this release. Please note that data on Planning Inspectors is only applicable to salaried employees (it does not include fixed term contract Inspectors or Planning Appeal Decision Suppliers, previously referred to as non-salaried Inspectors).

7. Volume Statistics

The Inspectorate has published a series of tables of quarterly data alongside this bulletin.  Some of the data published is on casework types that The Planning Inspectorate deals with that are larger in scale, but smaller in volume, than the appeals decisions that are the subject of the preceding sections of these statistics.  Some examples of this are Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and Local Plans, where volumes never go into the hundreds, and the time between submission to report issue can be over a year. Other data breaks appeals down into more detail than in the monthly totals.

Appeals against refusal of Planning Permission (Section 78 appeals)

The largest volume of casework dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate are appeals against refusal of Planning Permission, which are made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.  The analysis below deals with just this casework type although figures for other casework types can be found in the published tables.

Number of appeals received compared to decisions issued.

In the last twelve months, July 2024 to June 2025, there have been 9,047 Section 78 planning appeals (s78) received, 5.8% lower than for the period July 2023 to June 2024.

In the last five years (July 2020 to June 2025) the highest level of quarterly receipts (2,832) occurred in January to March 2021 and the highest number of decisions (2,879) was in October to December 2020. Over the past year the average number of receipts per quarter was 2,262 and the average number of decisions per quarter was 2,555.

The number of appeals received in April to June 2025 (2,268) was 4.7% lower than the same period in 2024.

Figure 8: Number of s78 Planning appeal, receipts and decisions, 2020/21 to 2025/26, by quarter

Line chart showing data in Table A in Annex C

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Tables 2.1 and Table 2.4.  

See Annex C, Table A, for full data table.   

The number of decisions issued in April to June 2025, was 1.2% higher than the previous quarter and 6.7% higher than the corresponding quarter last year.

Appeals Allowed   The percentage of Section 78 planning appeals that were allowed in the latest quarter was 3 2%, lower than in the previous quarter (see figure 9). There were 795 appeals allowed between April and June 2025, 27 less than in the previous quarter. (see Figure 11).

The consistency in the overall percentage allowed is heavily influenced by the number of written representations appeals allowed, as this procedure type contributes by far the greatest number of decisions each year.  There has been slightly more variation in the percentage allowed for hearings and inquiries.  See Figure 10 below for further details.   

Figure 9: S78 planning appeals, percentage allowed, 2020/21 to 2025/26, by quarter

Bar chart showing data in Table B in Annex C

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Table 2.4 s78 planning appeals decided.   

See Annex C Table B, for full data table   

Figure 10: S78 planning appeals, percentage allowed by procedure type, 2020/21 to 2025/26, by quarter

Line chart showing data in Table B in Annex C

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Table 2.4 s78 planning appeals decided.   

See Annex C Table B, for full data table   

Figure 11: S78 planning appeals, number of appeals allowed, 2020/21 to 2025/26, by quarter

Bar chart showing data in Table C in Annex C

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Table 2.4 s78 planning appeals decided.   

See Annex C, Table C, for full data table  

8. Annex A – Mean and median time to decision, with standard deviation, for planning, enforcement, and specialist casework

Planning

Note 1: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful.

Note 2: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Planning	Measure	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	1,371	1,209	1,081	1,187	1,264	1,115	1,192	1,238	1,363	1,229	1,184	1,413	14,846
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	24.6	24.1	26.4	27.3	27.0	26.1	26.4	26.0	23.7	23.7	22.4	22.1	25.0
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	26.3	25.3	27.2	28.2	28.5	27.4	27.4	26.7	25.0	24.9	24.2	24.2	26.2
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	12.1	10.9	10.4	11.3	12.7	12.6	10.9	10.9	12.0	12.3	13.5	14.1	12.2
Hearings	Decisions	48	57	53	48	39	45	50	51	58	46	49	29	573
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	23.4	23.7	21.7	24.0	22.6	22.6	25.6	23.9	22.7	23.8	23.0	23.0	23.4
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	30.2	30.7	32.1	28.5	35.3	27.9	30.6	27.7	26.1	26.4	25.2	25.2	28.9
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	22.1	20.4	32.1	13.7	26.6	14.5	11.7	12.3	14.2	9.5	9.8	9.8	18.2
Inquiries	Decisions	28	12	10	14	28	11	12	24	15	13	22	17	206
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	30.4	24.0	33.0	28.2	27.4	30.9	24.4	25.1	27.0	29.1	28.1	34.0	27.9
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	33.8	31.3	38.2	30.4	28.6	32.3	42.0	27.9	30.2	42.4	37.2	42.0	34.0
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	12.9	21.2	21.9	11.3	9.6	13.8	46.5	8.7	7.9	30.5	19.0	28.1	20.8
All Cases	Decisions	1,447	1,278	1,144	1,249	1,331	1,171	1,254	1,313	1,436	1,288	1,255	1,459	15,625
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	24.6	24.1	26.1	27.1	26.9	26.0	26.4	25.9	23.7	23.9	22.7	22.3	25.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	26.6	25.6	27.5	28.3	28.7	27.5	27.6	26.8	25.1	25.1	24.5	24.4	26.4
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	12.6	11.7	12.5	11.4	13.3	12.7	11.9	11.0	12.1	12.6	13.6	14.4	12.6

Source: Horizon

Enforcement

Note 1: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful

Note 2: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information.

Enforcement	Measure	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	131	127	115	163	139	144	158	153	175	176	162	186	1,829
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	55.4	47.3	39.9	52.9	72.0	56.0	71.3	63.4	58.0	60.8	64.1	66.8	57.6
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	57.9	52.2	46.8	54.8	70.0	59.8	67.0	62.2	62.2	63.6	68.8	70.6	62.0
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	29.0	21.6	25.1	26.2	28.0	26.0	30.4	29.1	29.5	26.5	32.5	35.6	29.6
Hearings	Decisions	16	32	12	36	33	36	62	35	47	14	25	13	361
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	67.3	44.6	101.6	77.4	75.4	102.5	37.1	46.7	60.6	25.6	37.7	20.1	44.1
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	67.7	58.5	90.7	67.5	63.5	171.2	40.2	57.6	62.9	37.8	31.9	27.6	66.1
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	20.7	30.1	47.3	27.1	33.1	125.4	20.6	33.5	35.6	22.7	14.6	13.2	61.0
Inquiries	Decisions	26	14	11	14	17	16	9	38	20	5	19	4	193
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	30.9	33.3	21.9	26.0	28.0	43.4	62.1	51.0	27.3	136.7	33.1	89.3	41.4
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	50.4	48.3	37.6	47.4	37.0	56.8	92.5	54.1	37.7	125.5	38.0	86.0	51.5
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	34.1	46.5	24.0	44.3	24.4	36.0	66.0	13.3	32.3	18.0	26.6	51.6	38.0
All Cases	Decisions	173	173	138	213	189	196	229	226	242	195	206	203	2,383
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	56.4	45.6	40.1	52.9	70.1	56.0	54.1	51.0	55.6	59.6	52.6	65.9	54.9
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	57.6	53.1	49.8	56.4	65.9	80.0	60.8	60.1	60.3	63.3	61.5	68.1	61.7
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	29.4	26.3	30.5	28.4	30.1	73.2	33.3	28.0	31.8	28.7	33.5	36.7	36.9

Source: Horizon

Specialist

Note 1: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful.

Note 2: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Note 3: This table now includes Tree Preservation Order cases as the valid date issue has been resolved

Specialist	Measure	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Jan-25	Feb-25	Mar-25	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	56	55	42	70	51	43	66	49	42	50	74	93	691
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	43.4	47.4	48.8	51.1	61.0	61.5	42.7	71.4	68.0	36.4	62.5	68.4	56.1
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	47.3	55.3	49.5	56.2	58.8	70.5	48.0	65.8	60.9	50.0	60.2	69.0	57.8
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	24.5	32.6	25.4	38.0	39.6	41.4	30.4	26.2	28.5	31.0	38.2	33.2	34.1
Hearings	Decisions	3	6	2	1	5	5	3	5	4	3	2	5	44
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	41.4	63.7	79.8	56.1	90.9	92.6	42.6	89.8	94.6	98.7	91.6	46.6	69.6
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	39.5	63.5	79.8	56.1	107.2	88.7	42.6	82.1	97.1	87.8	91.6	46.0	75.8
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	10.2	11.1	15.8	0.0	54.2	15.6	12.5	19.8	19.5	15.5	34.9	3.1	31.9
Inquiries	Decisions	5	2	1	3	1	3	7	3	3	2	3	2	35
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	82.6	36.1	97.4	66.0	77.9	87.3	81.0	56.4	113.9	56.3	102.9	77.5	77.9
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	68.0	36.1	97.4	68.0	77.9	88.2	76.5	45.2	95.4	56.3	86.8	77.5	72.6
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	24.8	8.9	0.0	16.5	0.0	4.3	34.6	19.6	30.8	0.0	30.7	10.9	28.7
All Cases	Decisions	64	63	45	74	57	51	76	57	49	55	79	100	770
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	45.0	48.3	51.0	52.0	64.1	67.1	44.6	70.7	69.0	36.4	62.9	67.5	56.9
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	48.6	55.3	52.0	56.7	62.8	73.6	50.8	65.9	66.6	52.5	62.2	68.1	59.5
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	24.8	31.1	26.4	37.1	42.6	38.6	31.7	26.3	30.8	31.0	38.5	32.5	34.1

Source: Horizon

9. Annex B – Detailed Information on timeliness (June 2025)

The information below shows the number and length of decisions made in June 2025 :

Note: when there are fewer than 20 decisions the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful.

Casework Type	Procedure Type	Median (weeks)	Mean (weeks)	Decisions
s78 planning appeals	Written Representations	24.7	27.2	900
s78 planning appeals	Hearings	22.9	23.9	28
s78 planning appeals	Inquiries	32.1	41.2	14
Householder appeals	Written Representations	15.3	17.9	423
Enforcement appeals	Written Representations	66.8	70.6	186
Enforcement appeals	Hearings	20.1	27.6	13
Enforcement appeals	Inquiries	89.3	86.0	4

The smaller the number of decisions, the less helpful the mean and median are as measures for summarising performance. Particular care should be taken when there are fewer than twenty decisions.

The information published below shows the time taken for different stages of the appeals process:

Note: Only cases with both dates recorded appear in this table, meaning that numbers for cases decided and events recorded may be lower than those presented elsewhere.

Measure	s78 Written Representations	s78 Hearings	s78 Inquiries	Householder appeals
Weeks between valid date & start date
Median (average)	0.7	2.9	2.4	0.6
Mean (average)	1.0	3.0	2.4	0.8
Cases that started in June 2025	742	37	17	313
Weeks between start date & event date
Median (Average)	15.0	12.4	17.1	7.9
Mean (Average)	17.5	13.4	29.4	10.3
Cases where an event occurred during June 2025	925	46	15	375
Weeks between event date & decision date
Median (average)	4.0	4.4	11.9	3.4
Mean (average)	5.2	5.3	13.4	5.1
Cases that have been decided in June 2025	894	28	13	420

Explanation of date terminology

Valid date	When a case is deemed to have been validly received.  Note – this is not always the date the case was validated. If a case is validated after the date it was validly received, it is the date it was validly received that is the valid date.
Start date	When a timetable, on how the appeal will progress, is issued to both the appellant and local authority. This timetable tells the appellant when to submit the information the Inspectors need to determine the appeal. It also tells the local authority when to notify interested parties about the appeal.
Event date	When the site visit, hearing, or inquiry occurred.
Decision date	When the decision was issued by The Planning Inspectorate.

Find out more about the process here - https://www.gov.uk/appeal-planning-decision/after-you-appeal

10. Annex C- Volume Tables

Annex C Table a: s78 planning appeals received and decided, by quarter since 2020/21

Year	Quarter	Received	Decided
2020/21	Apr - Jun	2,609	1,514
	Jul - Sep	2,613	2,252
	Oct - Dec	2,781	2,879
	Jan - Mar	2,832	2,467
2021/22	Apr - Jun	2,580	2,319
	Jul - Sep	2,692	2,124
	Oct - Dec	2,729	2,212
	Jan - Mar	2,671	2,294
2022/23	Apr - Jun	2,811	2,024
	Jul - Sep	2,582	2,056
	Oct - Dec	2,654	2,601
	Jan - Mar	2,578	2,481
2023/24	Apr - Jun	2,461	2,143
	Jul - Sep	2,410	2,488
	Oct - Dec	2,410	2,467
	Jan - Mar	2,406	2,579
2024/24	Apr - Jun	2,379	2,353
	Jul - Sep	2,392	2,605
	Oct - Dec	2,260	2,625
	Jan - Mar	2,127	2,481
2025/26	Apr - Jun	2,268	2,510

Annex C, Table b: s78 planning appeals, percentage allowed by procedure type, 2020/21 to 2025/26

Year	Quarter	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
2020/21	Apr - Jun	21%	37%	25%	21%
	Jul - Sep	24%	41%	55%	25%
	Oct - Dec	25%	37%	58%	26%
	Jan - Mar	25%	35%	53%	26%
2021/22	Apr - Jun	30%	34%	55%	31%
	Jul - Sep	27%	43%	58%	28%
	Oct - Dec	27%	41%	62%	28%
	Jan - Mar	28%	32%	54%	29%
2022/23	Apr - Jun	27%	34%	60%	29%
	Jul - Sep	26%	53%	65%	28%
	Oct - Dec	26%	51%	64%	29%
	Jan - Mar	28%	45%	66%	30%
2023/24	Apr - Jun	28%	41%	65%	30%
	Jul - Sep	27%	39%	38%	28%
	Oct - Dec	25%	48%	67%	27%
	Jan - Mar	27%	50%	53%	28%
2024/25	Apr - Jun	28%	40%	67%	29%
	Jul - Sep	28%	39%	53%	29%
	Oct - Dec	26%	50%	68%	28%
	Jan - Mar	31%	57%	69%	33%
2025/26	Apr - Jun	30%	48%	73%	32%

Annex C, Table c: s78 planning appeals, number allowed by procedure type, 2020/21 to 2025/26

Year	Quarter	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
2020/21	Apr - Jun	304	19	2	325
	Jul - Sep	537	17	6	560
	Oct - Dec	695	38	22	755
	Jan - Mar	588	39	16	643
2021/22	Apr - Jun	632	40	39	711
	Jul - Sep	536	40	29	605
	Oct - Dec	553	41	24	618
	Jan - Mar	595	31	36	662
2022/23	Apr - Jun	509	37	34	580
	Jul - Sep	484	60	31	575
	Oct - Dec	602	89	51	742
	Jan - Mar	639	66	42	747
2023/24	Apr - Jun	555	61	30	646
	Jul - Sep	618	54	26	698
	Oct - Dec	558	63	40	661
	Jan - Mar	644	63	27	734
2024/25	Apr - Jun	607	47	29	683
	Jul - Sep	672	60	26	758
	Oct - Dec	642	63	36	741
	Jan - Mar	695	90	37	822
2025/26	Apr - Jun	703	56	36	795

11. Annex D – Revisions to the data tables

This Annex lists all revisions made to the data since the last statistical release.

Note: Classed as a revision are any values which have changed by more than five (when measuring number of decisions/ cases) or more than 0.5 weeks (for mean, median or standard deviation of weeks).

Table	Revisions
Table 1	Events held: October, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 1	Decisions: July, September 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 2	Received cases: December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 2	Closed cases: July, September, November 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 2	Open cases: July, August, September, October, November, and December 2024, February and March 2025
Table 3	Decisions: July, September 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 4	Written Representations decisions: July, September 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 4	Planning decisions: March 2025
Table 4	Specialist decisions: July, September 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 4	Total decisions: July, September, December 2024, February and March 2025
Table 5	Valid to decision (Mean weeks): August, October, November, and December 2024 and February 2025
Table 5	Standard Deviation: August, September, October, November, and December 2024 and February 2025
Table 6	Hearing Valid to decision (Median weeks): July 2024 and February 2025
Table 6	Inquiries Valid to decision (Median weeks): October 2024
Table 6	Written Representations Valid to decision (Mean weeks): August, October, November, and December 2024 and February 2025
Table 6	Hearings Valid to decision (Mean weeks): September, November 2024, February and March 2025
Table 6	All cases Valid to decision (Mean weeks): August, October, November, and December 2024 and February 2025
Table 6	Written Representations Standard Deviation (weeks): July, August, September, October, November, December 2024, January and February 2025
Table 6	Hearing Standard Deviation (weeks): November, December 2024, February and March 2025
Table 6	All cases Standard Deviation (weeks): August, September, October, November, December 2024 and February 2025
Table 7	Enforcement: Valid to decision (Median weeks): January 2025
Table 7	Specialist: Valid to decision (Median weeks): July, August, September, October, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 7	Specialist: Valid to decision (Mean weeks): July, August, September, October, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Table 7	Specialist: Standard deviation of decision (weeks):  July, August, September, October, November 2024, February and March 2025
Annex A Planning	Inquiries Median weeks: October 2024
Annex A Planning	Inquiries Mean weeks: March 2025
Annex A Planning	Inquiries Standard Deviation: March 2025
Annex A Enforcement	Written Representations Median weeks: November 2024
Annex A Enforcement	Hearings Median weeks: January 2025
Annex A Specialist	Written Representations decisions: July, September 2024, January and February 2025
Annex A Specialist	Written Representations Median weeks: July, August, September, October, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Annex A Specialist	Written Representations Mean weeks: July, August, September, October, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Annex A Specialist	Written Representations Standard Deviation: July, August, September, October, December 2024, January and March 2025
Annex A Specialist	Hearings Median weeks: July, August, September, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Annex A Specialist	Hearings Mean weeks: July, August, September, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025
Annex A Specialist	Hearings Standard Deviation: July, August, September, November, December 2024, January, February and March 2025

12. Background notes

Data sources

Horizon / Picaso – The main casework management systems used for processing appeals casework (note that Picaso is no longer a live system).

Employee central – The Human Resources system database used to store all information regarding members of staff.

Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

These statistics have been published in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, which cover trustworthiness, quality, and value. They have been pre-announced, and publication is overseen by the Head of Profession.

Technical Notes

A Background Quality Report is published alongside this Statistical Release. It provides more detail on the quality of statistics in this publication.

Glossary

Appeals	The right to appeal a planning decision made by a local authority is a key feature of the planning system, as is appealing when an authority is taking too long.
Appeals decided	Number of appeals by the date the appeal was decided by The Planning Inspectorate.
Appeals received	Number of appeals by the date the appeal was received by The Planning Inspectorate.
Applications	Planning Inspectorate manage the application process for proposed Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) within England and Wales in line with the 2008 Planning Act.
Closed	The total number of appeals decided, withdrawn, or turned away.
Decision	The outcome of the case e.g. appeal allowed or rejected. The date of the decision is taken as the date a decision letter is sent to the appellant.
Event	A site visit, hearing, or inquiry (may be virtual)
Event Type	The different options of how an Inspector visits a site for a written representations appeal.
Examinations	The process of examining local plans is dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate. Every Local Planning Authority is required to have a local plan.  This includes a vision for the future and plan to address housing needs in the area. When a Local Planning Authority has finished preparing and consulting on a local plan it must be submitted to the Secretary of State who appoints an Inspector to carry out an independent examination.
FTE	Full Time Equivalent – a count of employees where those working part time are counted in proportion with their contracted hours.
Headcount	Total number of staff employed regardless of how many hours they work (i.e. the number of different individuals).
Hearings	A hearing involves the submission of written evidence by the main parties and a hearing once all the written submissions have been received. This takes the form of a round-the-table discussion (in person or virtually) that will be led by the planning inspector. It allows for all parties to respond to any questions that the inspector might have, and to let everyone make their case known. Source: Planning Portal
Inquiries	An inquiry is usually used for complex cases where legal issues may need to be considered. The main parties will usually have legal representatives to present their case and to cross-examine any witnesses. Prior to the inquiry date, the Planning Inspectorate will expect to have received various documents from all parties that will be taking part in the appeal. These may include statements of case and proofs of evidence from expert witnesses. Third parties may also take part. The inquiry will be led by the inspector and will follow a formal procedure. At some point during or on conclusion of the inquiry the inspector and the main parties will undertake a site visit. Source: Planning Portal
Live appeals	Number of live appeals in that have an appeal valid date but no end date (either decision date or a closed date, e.g. for appeals that have been withdrawn).
Mean	The total time taken divided by the number of cases. Also referred to as the ‘average’. A measure of how long each case would take, if the total time taken was spread evenly across all cases.
Median	This is the time taken by the ‘middle’ case if all cases were sorted from quickest to longest
Open Cases	Number of cases that have been received but on which a decision has not yet been made/ issued. Will differ from Live Appeals as it includes those received but not yet verified.
Procedure Type	The method by which The Planning Inspectorate processes and decides appeals.
Standard deviation	This is a measure of variability or spread. It is calculated by examining how much each value differs from the mean. A higher standard deviation means the individual decision times vary more widely around the mean.
Written Representations (includes Rights of Way Schedule 14)	Most planning appeals are decided by the written representations’ procedure. With this procedure the Inspector considers written evidence from the appellant, the LPA and anyone else who has an interest in the appeal. The site is also likely to be visited.

13. Contact Us

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