Official Statistics

Planning Inspectorate statistical release 22 November 2025

Published 22 January 2026

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. For details of what cases are included within the release see the textbox after Table 9.

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:

  • The time taken to reach decisions
  • Appeals, decisions and events held, from January to December 2025
  • The number of open cases
  • The number of Inspectors
  • The number of section 78 appeals received compared to decided, and the proportion allowed, in the last 5 years

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 December was 18 weeks.

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

Procedure type Last 12 months December 2025
Written Representations 23 weeks 18 weeks
Hearings 25 weeks 24 weeks
Inquiries 29 weeks 30 weeks
All Cases 23 weeks 18 weeks

The median time for planning cases was 16 weeks in December 2025. The 12-month median was 21 weeks. The median decision time for all cases has been coming down over the last year as seen in Figure 1 below.

Enforcement decisions made in December 2025 had a median decision time of 62 weeks, with the 12-month median being 61 weeks.

The median time for planning appeals decided by inquiry under the Rosewell Process in December was 31 weeks and over the 12 months to December 2025 was 28 weeks.

Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate made 19,985 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,665 per month. The number of decisions in December 2025 was 1,679.

There were 18,743 decisions made on written representations during the last 12 months, with 1,592 in December 2025.

There were 836 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, with 53 in December 2025.

There were 405 decisions made on inquiries during the last 12 months, with 33 in December 2025.

Planning Inspectors

There were 473 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate at the end of December 2025.

Section 78 Appeals

The allowed rate for Section 78 planning appeals was 30% for October 2025 to December 2025. Figure 8 shows that the Planning Inspectorate decided more cases than were received for 9 out of the last 10 quarters.

Please note the Planning Inspectorate has reordered this release to make it easier to read. As a result of this the tables have been reordered as well, please refer to Annex F for how they have changed.

To help determine whether this has been helpful, please send any feedback on these changes to: statistics@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

2. 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.

Planning Inspectors work on a broader range of work than the cases 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.

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 1 below shows that the median time to make a decision, across all cases in the last 12 months, was 23 weeks. The median time for decisions made in December 2025 was 18 weeks. Figure 1 shows the monthly median has ranged from 18 to 28 weeks over last 12 months.

Table 1 also shows the mean decision time for the last 12 months is 31 weeks. Each month the median is less than the mean, due to the impact of very long cases. This is illustrated in figure 1. Also included in the table is the standard deviation of decision timeliness, which is a measure of variation.

Table 1: Median, Mean and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision; January to December 2025.6

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

Month Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Total
Valid to Decision (median weeks) 28.1 28 25.9 26 24.6 24.7 22.1 19.9 20.1 19.7 18.1 18.4 23.1
Valid to Decision (mean weeks) 33.9 33.1 31.3 30.9 31.4 31.9 30.2 29.3 30 29.1 27.7 28.9 30.6
Standard Deviation (weeks) 22 20.5 22.2 21.2 24.1 25.5 25.8 28 27.5 25.7 26.4 25.9 24.8

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

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 1: Median and Mean Time to Decision; January to December 2025.

Line chart showing data in Table 1 (above)

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

3. Decisions, Events & Open Cases

The Planning Inspectorate has made 19,985 appeal decisions in the last 12 months. There were 1,679 cases decided in December 2025, with a monthly average of 1,665 over the past 12 months. Some of these outcomes are not final decisions but recommendations. These occur in cases that have been ‘called in’ or in section 78 appeals that have been ‘recovered’ for the Secretary of State to decide. In those situations, inspectors provide a recommendation rather than making the decision themselves.

Table 2 below shows the monthly breakdown with the highest number of decisions in July 2025 and lowest in August 2025.

The number of events recorded for December 2025 was 1,252, with a monthly average of 1,646 over the past 12 months.

The median valid to decision time was 18 weeks in December 2025, as shown in Figure 2 and Table 2 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 2: Number of events held, decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; January to December 2025.

Note: Annex C has this chart for just decisions (previously Figure 3)

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

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

Table 2: Number of events held, decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; January to December 2025.

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

Month Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Total
Events held 1757 1696 1696 1815 1389 1747 1806 1434 1828 1673 1661 1252 19754
Decisions 1576 1604 1734 1538 1541 1777 1910 1522 1653 1721 1730 1679 19985
Median 28.1 28 25.9 26 24.6 24.7 22.1 19.9 20.1 19.7 18.1 18.4 23.1

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

Figure 3 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 each of the past 12 months. The number of open cases has been reducing steadily over the past 12 months.

Figure 3: Number of cases received, closed and open; January to December 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 3 (below)

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

Table 3: Number of cases received, closed and open; January to December 2025.

Note 1: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex E 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.

Note 3: The open cases have been downloaded from a Development environment. P please see the BQR for more information

Month Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Total
Received 1534 1501 1480 1564 1624 1551 1737 1465 1679 1620 1690 1570 19015
Closed 1737 1768 1907 1711 1718 1960 2080 1668 1808 1901 1867 1844 21969
Open 12818 12594 12122 11989 11902 11428 11121 10925 10792 10451 10309 9939  

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

At the end of December 2025, the Planning Inspectorate had 9,939 cases open. More information on how the number of open cases has changed over the past 12 months, is in Table 3 and Figure 3 above. 

For wider context on planning activity, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes national statistics on planning applications in England. These can be found in the Live tables on planning application statistics

The open cases comprised of 8,770 cases being handled through written representations; 326 through hearings; and 303 through inquiries, as well as 391 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 4: Open cases by procedure and stage, as of end of December 2025.

Note 1: There are 540 cases that have no procedure type recorded (see Background Quality Report for more detail) These are excluded from the row and column totals in the table below. They have been added to the overall total. 

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 262 4 2 268
Case deemed valid but yet to “start” 1381 67 81 1529
Case started but event has not yet happened 5864 198 150 6212
Event happened but decision not issued 1263 57 70 1390
Total 8770 326 303 9399

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals 

4. Decisions by Procedure

The large majority of decisions over the past 12 months (18,743) were made on written representations. This is 94% of all appeal decisions made. Table 5 shows that written representation decisions have varied from 1,422 to 1,803 per month over the past 12 months.

There were 836 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, the monthly average being 70. During December 2025, 53 decisions were made for hearings. In December 2025, 33 decisions were made for inquiries. Decisions for inquiries per month over the last 12 months have ranged between 20 and 66.

Table 5 below gives the numbers of appeal decisions made broken down by whether the case was dealt with by written representations, hearings, or inquiries.

Table 5: Appeal Decisions by Procedure; January to December 2025.

Month Jan- 25 Feb- 25 Mar- 25 Apr- 25 May- 25 Jun- 25 Jul- 25 Aug- 25 Sep- 25 Oct- 25 Nov- 25 Dec- 25 Total
Written Representations 1,431 1,445 1,585 1,455 1,422 1,704 1,803 1,447 1,573 1,639 1,647 1,592 18,743
Hearings 117 93 109 63 75 50 64 48 59 49 56 53 836
Inquiries 28 66 40 20 44 23 43 27 21 33 27 33 405
Total 1,576 1,604 1,734 1,538 1,541 1,777 1,910 1,522 1,653 1,721 1,730 1,678 19,984

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

Figure 4 – Appeal Decisions by Procedure; January to December 2025.

Pie chart showing totals from Table 5 (above)

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 December 2025 is 23 weeks. The median time for hearings over the 12 months to December 2025 is 25 weeks. The median time to decide for inquiries over the 12 months to December 2025 was 29 weeks.

Table 6: Mean and Median Time to Decision, with Standard Deviation, by Procedure; January to December 2025.

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

Key: WR= Written Representations; HRG= Hearings; INQ= Inquiries; All= All Cases

Measure Procedure Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Total
Valid to decision (median weeks) Written Representations 27.7 27.9 25.6 26.0 24.3 24.5 21.9 19.4 19.6 19.6 17.8 17.9 22.9
Valid to decision (median weeks) Hearings 35.4 27.7 26.9 24.1 23.6 23.4 22.4 23.4 23.9 22.1 24.7 24.1 25.1
Valid to decision (median weeks) Inquiries 39.9 51.0 27.3 48.2 29.1 34.3 26.4 25.9 29.0 21.7 24.6 30.3 29.3
Valid to decision (median weeks) All Cases 28.1 28.0 25.9 26.0 24.6 24.7 22.1 19.9 20.1 19.7 18.1 18.4 23.1
Valid to decision (mean weeks) Written Representations 33.0 32.0 30.1 30.4 31.2 31.6 29.7 29.2 29.8 29.3 27.4 28.6 30.1
Valid to decision (mean weeks) Hearings 36.4 42.4 44.6 31.9 28.8 30.7 40.2 29.7 33.3 31.5 30.2 30.0 35.4
Valid to decision (mean weeks) Inquiries 66.9 43.6 42.7 64.6 40.9 53.4 37.4 32.6 36.3 16.7 39.0 41.7 42.0
Valid to decision (mean weeks) All Cases 33.9 33.1 31.3 30.9 31.4 31.9 30.2 29.3 30.0 29.1 27.7 28.9 30.6
Standard Deviation (weeks) Written Representations 20.5 19.6 20.1 20.4 24.2 25.4 25.3 28.5 27.7 25.8 26.4 26.1 24.5
Standard Deviation (weeks) Hearings 18.1 29.0 33.1 19.2 16.5 16.7 35.0 15.6 22.0 25.0 15.5 16.0 24.4
Standard Deviation (weeks) Inquiries 55.9 17.5 39.9 44.0 26.5 36.9 25.8 17.8 23.6 13.3 36.6 27.4 33.1
Standard Deviation (weeks) All Cases 22.0 20.5 22.2 21.2 24.1 25.5 25.8 28.0 27.5 25.7 26.4 25.9 24.8
Decisions Written Representations 1,431 1,445 1,585 1,455 1,422 1,704 1,803 1,447 1,573 1,639 1,647 1,592 18,743
Decisions Hearings 117 93 109 63 75 50 64 48 59 49 56 53 836
Decisions Inquiries 28 66 40 20 44 23 43 27 21 33 27 33 405
Decisions Total 1,576 1,604 1,734 1,538 1,541 1,777 1,910 1,522 1,653 1,721 1,730 1,679 19,985

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

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

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 December 2025 is 28 weeks and the median time to decision for December 2025 was 31 weeks. 

Table 7: Decisions, Median and Mean Time to Decision, Planning Inquiry Cases under Rosewell Process; January to December 2025.

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

Measure Jan- 25 Feb- 25 Mar- 25 Apr- 25 May- 25 Jun- 25 Jul- 25 Aug- 25 Sep- 25 Oct- 25 Nov- 25 Dec- 25 Total
Decisions 11 23 15 12 18 15 22 7 11 3 10 20 167
Median (weeks) 24.0 25.1 27.0 28.1 28.5 34.0 26.4 38.6 26.7 28.7 25.2 31.1 28.0
Mean (weeks) 28.4 27.3 30.2 35.0 35.1 35.9 30.7 41.1 30.2 33.3 27.0 38.0 32.4
St. Dev. (weeks) 12.0 8.4 7.9 17.3 13.6 13.8 9.4 12.8 13.4 10.0 8.9 16.6 13.0

Figure 5 below shows the mean and median time to decision for planning inquiry cases under the Rosewell process.

Figure 5: Median and Mean Time to Decision, Rosewell Inquiry Process; January to December 2025.

Line chart showing data in Table 7 (above)

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

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 8: Decisions, Planning Inquiry Cases under non-Rosewell Process; January to December 2025.

Month Jan- 25 Feb- 25 Mar- 25 Apr- 25 May- 25 Jun- 25 Jul- 25 Aug- 25 Sep- 25 Oct- 25 Nov- 25 Dec- 25 Total
Decisions 1 1 0 1 4 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 13

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

5. Decisions by Casework Category

The majority of cases decided over the past 12 months were planning (16,232). This is about 81% of all appeal decisions made. There were 2,819 enforcement decisions and 934 specialist decisions. These totals are also shown in Table 7 below and Figure 5 below.

Trends for planning decisions show similar patterns to written representations. The average number of enforcement decisions over the past 12 months was 235. Specialist casework figures continue to vary each month, from a high of 115 in June 2025 to a low of 44 in August 2025.

Table 9: Appeal Decisions by Casework Category; January to December 2025.

Month Jan- 25 Feb- 25 Mar- 25 Apr- 25 May- 25 Jun- 25 Jul- 25 Aug- 25 Sep- 25 Oct- 25 Nov- 25 Dec- 25 Total
Planning 1,255 1,314 1,439 1,286 1,255 1,460 1,559 1,279 1,324 1,327 1,412 1,322 16,232
Enforcement 230 226 241 195 204 202 238 199 255 316 244 269 2,819
Specialist 91 64 54 57 82 115 113 44 74 78 74 88 934
Total 1,576 1,604 1,734 1,538 1,541 1,777 1,910 1,522 1,653 1,721 1,730 1,679 19,985

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

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.

Figure 6 – Appeal Decisions by Casework Category; January to December 2025.

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

Pie chart showing totals from Table 9 (above)

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 10 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 10: Median, Mean and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision – Planning, Enforcement, Specialist Cases; January to December 2025.

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

Casework Category Measure Jan- 25 Feb- 25 Mar- 25 Apr- 25 May- 25 Jun- 25 Jul- 25 Aug- 25 Sep- 25 Oct- 25 Nov- 25 Dec- 25 Total
Planning Cases Valid to Decision (median weeks) 26.4 25.9 23.7 23.9 22.7 22.3 20.0 17.9 17.7 16.9 16.0 15.9 20.6
  Valid to Decision (mean weeks) 27.6 26.8 25.1 25.1 24.5 24.3 22.1 20.6 20.1 19.5 18.5 19.5 22.8
  St. dev. of decision (weeks) 11.9 11.1 12.1 12.7 13.6 14.4 11.4 12.4 11.6 10.2 10.9 12.4 12.5
Enforcement Cases Valid to Decision (median weeks) 53.4 51.0 55.6 59.6 52.6 64.9 59.4 73.4 67.9 62.8 70.6 61.7 61.3
  Valid to Decision (mean weeks) 60.6 60.1 60.2 63.3 61.6 68.2 64.7 73.9 69.3 62.2 69.7 67.8 65.1
  St. dev. of decision (weeks) 33.2 28.0 31.8 28.7 33.6 36.6 37.8 37.1 37.2 34.7 35.1 32.5 34.3
Specialist Cases Valid to Decision (median weeks) 48.4 70.3 69.9 36.4 63.7 60.4 73.4 82.6 70.4 54.2 60.1 53.8 61.6
  Valid to Decision (mean weeks) 53.2 65.6 67.8 51.9 62.2 64.4 71.2 79.8 72.6 59.1 63.6 53.0 63.3
  St. dev. of decision (weeks) 30.5 27.4 36.8 30.9 36.5 31.7 37.9 51.7 29.6 32.1 35.6 27.6 34.7

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

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 61 weeks.

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

Figure 7 – Median Time to Decision by Casework Category: January to December 2025

Line chart showing data in Table 10 (above)

Source: Horizon and Manage Appeals

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.

6. Inspectors

Table 11 below shows the number of Inspectors in the Planning Inspectorate in each month from January to December 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 473 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in December 2025 – with a full-time equivalent of 429.

Table 11: Planning Inspectors – Headcount and FTE; January to December 2025 (at end of month)

Month Jan- 25 Feb- 25 Mar- 25 Apr- 25 May- 25 Jun- 25 Jul- 25 Aug- 25 Sep- 25 Oct- 25 Nov- 25 Dec- 25
Headcount 457 457 457 455 452 448 446 445 457 455 476 473
FTE 414.7 415.1 414.8 412.5 408.7 404.5 403.2 402.0 412.9 411.2 431.7 429.4

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. Exploring Section 78 Planning Appeals

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. Similar data for other casework types can be found in the published tables. 

Number of appeals received compared to decisions issued.

In the last twelve months, January 2025 to December 2025, there have been 9,072 Section 78 planning appeals (s78) received, 3.9% lower than for the period January 2024 to December 2024. 

In the last five years (January 2021 to December 2025) the highest level of quarterly receipts (2,832) occurred in January to March 2021 and the highest number of decisions (2,758) was in July to September 2025.  Over the past year the average number of receipts per quarter was 2,268 and the average number of decisions per quarter was 2,586. 

The number of appeals received in October to December 2025 (2,422) was 7.3% higher 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 D

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

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

The number of decisions issued in October to December 2025, was 5.8% lower than the previous quarter and 1.2% lower than the corresponding quarter last year. 

Appeals Allowed

The percentage of Section 78 planning appeals that were allowed in the latest quarter was 30%, lower than in the previous quarter (see figure 9). There were 786 appeals allowed between October and December 2025, 73 less than in the previous quarter.

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 D

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Table 2.4 s78 planning appeals decided.     See Annex D 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 D Table B, 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 E for further information

Planning Measure Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Total
Written Representations Decisions 1193 1239 1366 1227 1184 1415 1498 1235 1279 1289 1363 1271 15559
Written Representations Median Average Weeks 26.4 26 23.7 23.7 22.4 22 20 17.4 17.3 16.7 15.7 15.4 20.3
Written Representations Mean Average Weeks 27.4 26.8 25 24.9 24.2 24.1 21.9 20.3 19.8 19.2 18.2 19 22.5
Written Representations Standard Deviation Weeks 10.9 11 12 12.3 13.5 14.1 11.4 12.3 11.6 9.8 10.6 12 12.2
Hearings Decisions 50 51 58 46 49 28 39 36 34 33 39 30 493
Hearings Median Average Weeks 25.6 23.9 22.7 23.8 23 22.9 21.1 23.3 22.9 23.3 24.7 22.2 23
Hearings Mean Average Weeks 30.6 27.7 26.1 26.4 25.2 24.6 22.7 27.7 25.3 28 29.6 24.6 26.7
Hearings Standard Deviation Weeks 11.7 12.3 14.2 9.5 9.8 9.6 9.9 10.9 9.2 17.4 15.1 11.5 12.2
Inquiries Decisions 12 24 15 13 22 17 22 8 11 5 10 21 180
Inquiries Median Average Weeks 24.4 25.1 27 29.1 28.1 34 26.4 37.3 26.7 26.9 25.2 31.4 28.1
Inquiries Mean Average Weeks 42 27.9 30.2 42.4 37.2 42 30.7 38.5 30.2 30.4 27 39.4 34.9
Inquiries Standard Deviation Weeks 46.5 8.7 7.9 30.5 19 28.1 9.4 13.8 13.4 8.5 8.9 17.3 21.2
All Cases Decisions 1255 1314 1439 1286 1255 1460 1559 1279 1324 1327 1412 1322 16232
All Cases Median Average Weeks 26.4 25.9 23.7 23.9 22.7 22.3 20 17.9 17.7 16.9 16 15.9 20.6
All Cases Mean Average Weeks 27.6 26.8 25.1 25.1 24.5 24.3 22.1 20.6 20.1 19.5 18.5 19.5 22.8
All Cases Standard Deviation Weeks 11.9 11.1 12.1 12.7 13.6 14.4 11.4 12.4 11.6 10.2 10.9 12.4 12.5

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 E for further information.

Enforcement Measure Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Total
Written Representations Decisions 159 153 174 176 160 186 203 175 228 275 219 242 2350
Written Representations Median Average Weeks 71.3 63.4 57.1 60.8 64.4 66.4 60 81.4 72.6 68.4 74 63.7 67.5
Written Representations Mean Average Weeks 66.8 62.2 62.1 63.6 69.1 70.4 66.4 80.4 72.8 68.6 74.1 71.5 69.3
Written Representations Standard Deviation Weeks 30.4 29.1 29.5 26.5 32.6 35.6 36.7 34.6 36.3 31.6 32.9 31 32.9
Hearings Decisions 62 35 47 14 25 13 19 10 20 13 14 18 290
Hearings Median Average Weeks 35.6 46.7 60.6 25.6 37.7 20.1 49.4 23.4 23.9 21.1 20.2 24.4 35.4
Hearings Mean Average Weeks 40.1 57.6 62.9 37.8 31.9 27.6 61.8 25.9 41 29.4 30.1 31.5 44
Hearings Standard Deviation Weeks 20.6 33.5 35.6 22.7 14.6 13.2 44.6 10.9 30.4 30.7 17 14.7 30.4
Inquiries Decisions 9 38 20 5 19 3 16 14 7 28 11 9 179
#Inquiries Median Average Weeks 62.1 51 27.3 136.7 33.1 132.6 34 23.9 29.1 4.3 21.3 24.1 27.3
Inquiries Mean Average Weeks 92.5 54.1 37.7 125.5 38 106.7 46.3 27.6 35.9 14.3 33.1 39.5 43.6
Inquiries Standard Deviation Weeks 66 13.3 32.3 18 26.6 43 36.5 14 29.9 12.5 40.7 40.7 37.9
All Cases Decisions 230 226 241 195 204 202 238 199 255 316 244 269 2819
All Cases Median Average Weeks 53.4 51 55.6 59.6 52.6 64.9 59.4 73.4 67.9 62.8 70.6 61.7 61.3
All Cases Mean Average Weeks 60.6 60.1 60.2 63.3 61.6 68.2 64.7 73.9 69.3 62.2 69.7 67.8 65.1
All Cases Standard Deviation Weeks 33.2 28 31.8 28.7 33.6 36.6 37.8 37.1 37.2 34.7 35.1 32.5 34.3

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 E for further information

Specialist Measure Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Total
Written Representations Decisions 79 53 45 52 78 103 102 37 66 75 65 79 834
Written Representations Median Average Weeks 48.4 72 68 36.4 62.5 60.9 76.4 91.1 73.1 53.3 61.2 50.5 60.9
Written Representations Mean Average Weeks 51.5 66.5 61.5 49.5 60.4 65 71.9 85.3 74.4 58.2 64.2 52.2 62.9
Written Representations Standard Deviation Weeks 29.7 26.7 29.1 30.8 35.8 32.8 38.2 52.9 30.1 32.2 35.4 28.3 34.8
Hearings Decisions 5 7 4 3 1 9 6 2 5 3 3 5 53
Hearings Median Average Weeks 43.6 86.1 94.6 98.7 126.4 49.6 83.3 84.4 48.6 87.6 31.9 63.6 65
Hearings Mean Average Weeks 47.7 73.6 97.1 87.8 126.4 56.8 85.5 84.4 56.4 79.5 38.4 63.7 69.8
Hearings Standard Deviation Weeks 20.3 28 19.5 15.5 0 16.9 24.9 3.9 16 18.2 9.3 0.9 26.4
Inquiries Decisions 7 4 5 2 3 3 5 5 3 0 6 3 46
Inquiries Median Average Weeks 81 38.6 113.9 56.3 102.9 66.6 27.6 18 67.9 - 66.7 79.7 56.4
Inquiries Mean Average Weeks 76.5 39.1 99.6 56.3 86.8 64.6 38.6 37.2 59.4 - 70 64.7 63.7
Inquiries Standard Deviation Weeks 34.6 20 67.7 0 30.7 20.3 25.1 26.6 22.2 - 39.9 25.4 40.5
All Cases Decisions 91 64 54 57 82 115 113 44 74 78 74 88 934
All Cases Median Average Weeks 48.4 70.3 69.9 36.4 63.7 60.4 73.4 82.6 70.4 54.2 60.1 53.8 61.6
All Cases Mean Average Weeks 53.2 65.6 67.8 51.9 62.2 64.4 71.2 79.8 72.6 59.1 63.6 53 63.3
All Cases Standard Deviation Weeks 30.5 27.4 36.8 30.9 36.5 31.7 37.9 51.7 29.6 32.1 35.6 27.6 34.7

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

The information below shows the number and length of decisions made in December 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 16.3 20.5 796
s78 planning appeals Hearings 22.4 24.7 29
s78 planning appeals Inquiries 31.1 38.2 20
Householder appeals Written Representations 12.2 14.3 334
Enforcement appeals Written Representations 63.7 71.5 242
Enforcement appeals Hearings 24.4 31.5 18
Enforcement appeals Inquiries 24.1 39.5 9

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 2.2 2 0.9
Mean (average) 1 5.1 2.3 1.1
Cases that started in December 2025 534 32 13 207
Weeks between start date & event date        
Median (Average) 10 14 13.8 8
Mean (Average) 13.8 15.7 13.4 9.6
Cases where an event occurred during December 2025 607 26 8 207
Weeks between event date & decision date        
Median (average) 3.6 4.6 8.1 2.9
Mean (average) 4.6 5.7 15 4.4
Cases that have been decided in December 2025 793 29 20 333

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 – Number of decisions January to December 2025.

Note this is previously Figure 3 that has been moved due to the reorder.

Bar chart showing decisions per month from Table 2

11. Annex D – Volume Tables

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 2,408 2,488
  Oct - Dec 2,410 2,467
  Jan - Mar 2,406 2,579
2024/25 Apr - Jun 2,379 2,351
  Jul - Sep 2,393 2,603
  Oct - Dec 2,259 2,625
  Jan - Mar 2,127 2,479
2025/26 Apr - Jun 2,279 2,501
  Jul - Sep 2,242 2,753

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% 40% 52% 29%
  Oct - Dec 26% 50% 68% 28%
  Jan - Mar 31% 57% 69% 33%
2025/26 Apr - Jun 30% 48% 82% 32%
  Jul - Sep 29% 59% 76% 31%

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 46 29 682
  Jul - Sep 672 60 25 757
  Oct - Dec 642 63 36 741
  Jan - Mar 695 90 37 822
2025/26 Apr - Jun 699 56 40 795
  Jul - Sep 762 63 31 856

12. Annex E – 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 2 Events Held: October, November and December 2024, March, April and June 2025
Table 2 Decisions: January 2025
Table 3 Received: November 2024, February, April, May and June 2025
Table 3 Closed: January 2025
Table 3 Open: October, November, and December 2024 and January, February, March, May and June 2025
Table 5 Written Representations: January 2025
Table 5 Total decisions: January 2025
Table 6 Hearings Valid to decision (Median weeks): February 2025
Table 6 Hearings Valid to decision (Mean weeks): February and June 2025
Table 6 Inquiries Valid to decision (Mean weeks): June 2025
Table 6 Hearings Standard Deviation (weeks): December 2024 and June 2025
Table 9 Specialist: January and June 2025
Table 9 Total decisions: January 2025
Table 10 Specialist: Valid to decision (Median weeks): October 2024, January, February, March, May and June 2025
Table 10 Specialist: Valid to decision (Mean weeks): October and December 2024, January, February, March and June 2025
Table 10 Specialist: Standard deviation of decision (weeks): January and May 2025
Annex A Enforcement Written Representations (Decisions): March, May and June 2025
Annex A Enforcement Written Representations (Median weeks): March 2025
Annex A Enforcement Hearings (Decisions): December 2024 and January 2025
Annex A Enforcement Hearings (Median weeks): December 2024 and January 2025
Annex A Enforcement Hearings (Mean weeks): December 2024
Annex A Enforcement Inquiries (Decisions): June 2025
Annex A Enforcement Inquiries (Median weeks): June 2025
Annex A Enforcement Inquiries (Mean weeks): June 2025
Annex A Enforcement Inquiries (Standard Deviation): June 2025
Annex A Specialist Written Representations (Decisions): October and December 2024, January, February, March, April, May and June 2025
Annex A Specialist Written Representations (Median weeks): January, February, May and June 2025
Annex A Specialist Written Representations (Mean weeks): October and December 2024, January, February, March, April and June 2025
Annex A Specialist Written Representations (Standard Deviation): May 2025
Annex A Specialist Hearings (Decisions): January, February, May and June 2025
Annex A Specialist Hearings (Median weeks): January, May and June 2025
Annex A Specialist Hearings (Mean weeks): May and June 2025
Annex A Specialist Hearings (Standard Deviation): January, May and June 2025

13. Annex F – New table order information

Previous Table Number New Table number
Table 1 Number of events held, decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date Table 2: Number of events held, decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date;
Table 2: Number of cases received, closed and open Table 3: Number of cases received, closed and open
Table 3: Appeal Decisions Removed due to repeating information
Table 4: Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category Spilt into two tables:  Table 5: Appeal Decisions by Procedure, Table 9: Appeal Decisions by Casework Category
Table 5: Median, mean and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision Table 1: Median, mean and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision
Table 6: Mean and Median Time to Decision, with Standard Deviation, by Procedure Table 6: Mean and Median Time to Decision, with Standard Deviation, by Procedure
Table 7: Decisions, Mean, Median and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision – Planning, Enforcement, Specialist Cases; Table 10: Decisions, Mean, Median and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision – Planning, Enforcement, Specialist Cases;
Table 8: Decisions, Mean and Median Time to Decision, Planning Inquiry Cases under Rosewell Process Table 7: Decisions, Median and Mean Time to Decision, Planning Inquiry Cases under Rosewell Process
Table 9: Decisions, Planning Inquiry Cases under non-Rosewell Process Table 8: Decisions, Planning Inquiry Cases under non-Rosewell Process;
Table 10: Open cases by procedure and stage Table 4: Open cases by procedure and stage
Table 11: Planning Inspectors – Headcount and FTE Table 11: Planning Inspectors – Headcount and FTE

14. 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.

Data quality Data on cases is taken from a live casework system, and details of cases can change for a number of reasons even after a decision has been made. We are seeking to get a better understanding of the nature and volume of these changes and will provide further information as it is available.

We carry out regular checks on the quality of our data and may undertake ad hoc data cleansing exercises.  Therefore, all the data for the last 12 rolling months is published in provisional form.
We have indicated in this publication any data where a number of cases has changed by more than five cases in a month; or where a measure (mean, median or standard deviation) has changed by more than 0.5 weeks.
Measuring weeks Data are measured in days and then converted to weeks. 

Note that not all decimal values are possible where converting days to weeks. 1 day is 1/7 of a week, or 0.14 weeks (to two decimal places). 2 days = 0.29; 3 days = 0.43; 4 days = 0.57; 5 days = 0.71; 6 days = 0.86.

 

When these are used to calculate averages, or displayed to one decimal place, the result will not equate to a full day which can be misleading: it may appear that we are measuring part days (e.g. 19.8 weeks) but we only measure in whole days.

Glossary

Term Explanation
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.

15. Contact Us

The Planning Inspectorate welcome feedback on our statistical products. If you have any comments or questions about this publication or about our statistics in general, you can contact us as follows:

Media enquiries 0303 444 5004

email press.office@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Public enquiries email statistics@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Please note we are currently reviewing our statistics with a view to making them as clear and helpful as possible for users. We would be delighted if you could contact us via the address below with any views on this approach; particularly on what content would be most useful and why.

email statistics@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

If you require information which is not available within this or other available publications, you may wish to submit a Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to the Planning Inspectorate. For more information, see: https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-information-request/the-freedom-of-information-act