Official Statistics

Planning Inspectorate statistical release 23 January 2025

Updated 3 April 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 appeal 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 January 2024 to December 2024
• The time taken to reach decisions
• Provisional estimates of the number of open cases
• Number of Inspectors
• 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 December was 28 weeks.

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

Procedure type	Last 12 months	September 2024
Written Representations	27 weeks	28 weeks
Hearings	30 weeks	35 weeks
Inquiries	35 weeks	35 weeks
All Cases	27 weeks	28 weeks

The median time for planning cases was 26 weeks in December 2024. The 12-month median was 26 weeks.

Enforcement decisions made in December 2024 had a median decision time of 56 weeks, with the 12-month median being 54 weeks.

The median time for planning appeals decided by inquiry under the Rosewell Process in December was 29 weeks and over the 12 months to December 2024 was 28 weeks.

Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate made 18,034 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,503 per month. The number of decisions in December 2024 was 1,416.

There were 1,301 written representations decisions in December 2024 and 16,734 in the last 12 months.

There were 835 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, and during December 2024, 85 decisions were issued.

There were 465 decisions made on inquiries during the last 12 months, with 30 in December 2024.

Planning Inspectors

There were 431 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate at the end of December 2024.

2. Decisions, Events, and Open Cases

The number of decisions issued in December 2024 was 1,416, with a monthly average of 1,503 over the past 12 months.

The number of events recorded for December2024 was 1,303, the average over the past 12 months was 1,505.

The median valid to decision time was 28 weeks in December 2024, as seen in Figure 1 and Table 1 below.

There are no clear trends for the number of events and decisions per month. However, the Christmas and Easter breaks do typically impact on the number of events arranged for December and April.

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

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; January 2024 to December 2024.

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

Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Events Held	1,893	1,548	1,220	1,559	1,363	1,524	1,685	1,265	1,443	1,704	1,558	1,303	18,065
Decisions	1,507	1,648	1,448	1,446	1,559	1,359	1,674	1,519	1,337	1,542	1,579	1,416	18,034
Median	30.1	28.4	27.8	27.6	26.0	26.4	25.8	25.7	27.0	28.9	28.6	28.0	27.4

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 exceptions being March, June and September 2024.

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.

Figure 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; January 2024 to December 2024.

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

Source: Horizon

Note: 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.

Table 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; January 2024 to December 2024.

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

Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Received	1525	1629	1700	1584	1679	1616	1754	1579	1619	1694	1505	1459	19343
Closed	1748	1834	1659	1731	1757	1534	1861	1669	1509	1733	1755	1585	20375
Open	13571	13232	13293	13290	13214	13314	13317	13165	13211	13212	12987	12915

Source: Horizon

3. Number of Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 18,034 appeal decisions in the last 12 months. There were 1,416 cases decided in December 2024.

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

Table 3: Appeal Decisions; January 2024 to December 2024.

Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Decisions	1,507	1,648	1,448	1,446	1,559	1,359	1,674	1,519	1,337	1,542	1,579	1,416	18,176

Source: Horizon

Figure 3 – Appeal Decisions; January 2024 to December 2024.

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 (16,734) were made on written representations. This is 93% of all appeal decisions made. Table 4 shows that written representation decisions have varied from around 1,248 to around 1,558 per month over the past 12 months.

There were 773 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, the monthly average being 70. During December 2024, 85 decisions were issued. In December 2024, 30 decisions were made for inquiries. Decisions for inquiries per month over the last 12 months have ranged between 22 and 59.

Table 4: Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; January 2024 to December 2024.

Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Written Representations	1,405	1,558	1,327	1,342	1,434	1,293	1,549	1,397	1,248	1,425	1,455	1,301	16,734
Hearings	67	46	78	52	77	41	66	94	67	85	77	85	835
Inquiries	35	44	43	52	48	25	59	28	22	32	47	30	465
Total	1,507	1,648	1,448	1,446	1,559	1,359	1,674	1,519	1,337	1,542	1,579	1,416	18,034
Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Planning	1,246	1,405	1,127	1,204	1,313	1,173	1,446	1,280	1,144	1,253	1,332	1,173	15,096
Enforcement	205	206	176	179	185	137	172	175	140	214	190	198	2,176
Specialist	56	37	145	64	61	49	56	63	53	75	57	45	762
Total	1,507	1,648	1,448	1,446	1,559	1,359	1,674	1,519	1,337	1,542	1579	1,416	18,034

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 (15,096). This is about 84% of all appeal decisions made. There were 2,141 enforcement decisions and 762 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 181. Specialist casework figures continue to vary each month, from a high of 145 in March 2024 to a low of 37 in February 2024.

Figure 4 – Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; January 2024 to December 2024.

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.

Table 5 below shows that the median time to make a decision, across all cases in the last 12 months, was 27 weeks; and 28 weeks for December 2024. Figure 5 shows the median has ranged from 26 to 32 weeks for each of the last 12 months.

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 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. Also included in the table is the standard deviation of decision timeliness, which is a measure of variation.

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.

Table 5: Median, mean and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision; January 2024 to December 2024.

Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Valid to Decision (median weeks)	30.1	28.4	27.8	27.8	26.0	26.4	25.7	25.7	27.0	28.9	28.6	28.0	27.4
Valid to Decision (mean weeks)	34.5	32.0	33.7	32.2	30.5	29.3	30.1	29.2	30.4	32.9	33.6	35.4	32.0
Standard Deviation (weeks)	20.3	18.6	21.5	20.0	19.3	16.6	18.3	17.3	17.5	19.1	21.2	35.5	21.0

Source: Horizon

Figure 5: Median and mean Time to Decision; January 2024 to December 2024.

Note: Specialist casework timeliness measures exclude Tree Preservation Order cases

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 19 of every 20 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. Those noted in the table caption below should be treated with caution as there are fewer than 20 cases decided.

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 2024 is 27 weeks. The median time for hearings over the 12 months to December 2024 is 30 weeks. The median time to decide for inquiries over the 12 months to December 2024 was 35 weeks.

Table 6: Mean and Median Time to Decision, with Standard Deviation, by Procedure; January 2024 to December 2024.

Note 1: Where the number of decisions issued is fewer than 20, 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

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

Measure	Procedure	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Written Representations	30.0	28.1	27.4	27.1	26.0	26.3	25.6	25.3	27.1	28.9	28.7	27.9	27.3
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Hearings	38.9	37.1	27.1	37.9	24.3	31.8	26.4	38.4	23.9	30.1	34.4	35.0	30.0
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Inquiries	40.4	37.1	50.1	47.1	41.1	34.4	31.4	26.6	29.7	28.2	27.4	35.4	35.0
Valid to decision (median weeks)	All Cases	30.1	28.4	27.8	27.6	26.0	26.4	25.7	25.7	27.0	28.9	28.6	28.0	28.0
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Written Representations	33.2	31.0	32.1	30.3	29.4	28.6	29.2	28.1	29.5	32.0	32.9	31.5	30.7
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Hearings	50.9	45.0	43.9	52.0	34.3	46.6	39.3	41.8	43.3	45.2	49.1	90.9	49.0
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Inquiries	55.6	53.5	62.1	60.5	56.8	42.2	44.0	40.2	40.6	41.6	32.6	50.9	49.3
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	All Cases	34.5	32.0	33.7	32.2	30.5	29.3	30.1	29.2	30.4	32.9	33.6	35.4	32.0
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Written Representations	17.7	16.6	18.9	17.0	17.5	15.5	17.0	15.2	14.5	17.6	20.1	18.6	17.4
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Hearings	39.7	26.7	33.1	39.3	22.8	30.3	27.0	27.9	41.8	28.2	33.5	109.3	48.6
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Inquiries	34.5	41.2	37.8	27.1	36.9	19.2	27.6	36.7	25.7	32.8	18.2	32.4	33.1
Standard Deviation (weeks)	All Cases	20.3	18.6	21.5	20.0	19.2	16.6	18.3	17.3	17.5	19.1	21.2	35.5	21.0
Decisions	Written Representations	1,405	1,558	1,327	1,342	1,434	1,293	1,549	1,397	1,248	1,425	1,455	1,301	16,734
Decisions	Hearings	67	46	78	52	77	41	66	94	67	85	77	85	835
Decisions	Inquiries	35	44	43	52	48	25	59	28	22	32	47	30	465
Decisions	Total	1,507	1,648	1,448	1,446	1,559	1,359	1,674	1,519	1,337	1,542	1,579	1,416	18,034

Source: Horizon

Note: Tree Preservation Order cases are not included in timeliness measures

The standard deviation information indicates that for all three procedures, there is considerable variation, meaning times are widely spread about the mean. For written representations, the amount of variation has been quite stable over recent months, whereas inquiries have experienced considerable month to month changes in the spread of decision times.

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; January 2024 to December 2024.

Appeal Type	Measure	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	28.9	26.9	26.1	26.1	25.1	25.0	24.6	24.1	26.1	27.1	26.9	26.0	26.0
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	30.5	28.4	28.7	27.9	26.4	26.1	26.6	25.6	27.5	28.3	28.7	27.5	27.7
Planning Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	14.6	13.5	14.0	14.0	12.4	11.4	12.6	11.7	12.5	11.4	13.3	12.7	13.0
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	48.6	50.5	62.1	53.0	51.9	51.7	57.2	45.8	40.6	52.9	70.2	56.0	53.9
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	54.7	53.9	65.1	58.6	58.2	54.4	57.8	53.1	50.5	56.5	66.0	79.7	59.4
Enforcement Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	30.1	27.5	29.5	26.7	30.4	25.3	29.4	26.2	30.7	28.4	30.1	73.0	35.9
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	49.1	46.2	25.0	27.6	27.3	30.7	33.6	44.4	48.7	40.1	25.6	51.0	34.3
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	52.8	49.4	34.4	41.5	35.7	41.9	40.0	45.3	46.0	49.8	48.6	62.2	43.8
Specialist Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	31.6	30.0	26.3	33.0	28.2	31.0	23.1	28.8	25.1	35.8	40.2	37.9	31.5

Source: Horizon

Note: Specialist casework timeliness measures exclude Tree Preservation Order cases

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 54 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: January 2024 to December 2024.

Line chart showing data in Table 7 (above)

Source: Horizon

Note: Specialist casework timeliness measures exclude Tree Preservation Order cases

Note that the Inspectorate publishes each month, 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 December 2024 is 28 weeks and the median time to decision for December 2024 was 29 weeks.

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

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

Measure	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Decisions	15	16	14	4	22	12	25	12	10	15	28	10	183
Median (weeks)	35.0	31.9	25.6	25.1	27.8	28.9	31.4	24.0	33.0	29.0	26.7	29.4	28.0
Mean (weeks)	36.0	31.2	27.8	25.7	35.5	31.5	34.4	31.3	38.2	30.9	26.9	28.1	31.7
St. Dev. (weeks)	9.3	7.9	6.8	1.9	16.2	10.3	12.6	21.2	21.9	11.1	4.9	4.1	12.6

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; January 2024 to December 2024.

Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Decisions	0	4	2	2	2	1	3	0	0	0	1	1	16

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; January 2024 to December 2024.

Line chart showing data in Table 8 (above)

Source: Horizon

5. Open Cases

At the end of December 2024, the Planning Inspectorate had 12,838 cases open. More information on the number of open cases, and how it has changed over the past 12 months, is in Table 2 and Figure 2 above.

The open cases comprised of 11,701 cases being handled through written representations; 688 through hearings; and 449 through inquiries, as well as 77 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 September 2024

Stage	WR	HRG	INQ	Total
Case received but yet to be deemed valid	553	35	4	592
Case deemed valid but yet to “start” [Note 1]	1,934	140	132	2,206
Case started but decision not yet issued	9,214	513	313	10,040
Total	11,701	688	449	12,838

Source: Horizon

Note 1 - there are 77 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.

6. Inspectors

Table 11 below shows the number of inspectors in the Planning Inspectorate in each month from January 2024 to December 2024 . 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 431 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in December 2024 – with a full-time equivalent of 391.

Table 11: Planning Inspectors – Headcount and FTE; January 2024 to December 2024.(at end of month)

Month	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Headcount	424	426	434	443	443	442	437	436	434	434	434	431	431
FTE	381.6	383.3	390.6	400.0	399.4	399.0	395.1	394.4	393.4	393.4	393.5	390.8	390.9

Source: SAP HR and 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, January 2024 to December 2024, there have been 9,433 Section 78 planning appeals (s78) received, 4.4% lower than for the period January 2023 to December 2023.

In the last five years (January 2020 to December 2020) the highest level of quarterly receipts (2,879) occurred in January to March 2020 and the highest number of decisions (2,358) was in October to December 2019. Over the past year the average number of receipts per quarter was 2,543 and the average number of decisions per quarter was 2,543.

The number of appeals received in October to December 2024 (2,259) was 6.3% lower than the same period in 2023.

Figure 8: Number of s78 Planning appeal, receipts and decisions, 2019/20 to 2024/25, 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 July to September 2024, was 10.8% higher than the previous quarter and 4.9% higher than the corresponding quarter last year.

Appeals Allowed

The percentage of Section 78 planning appeals that were allowed in the latest quarter was 28%, the same as in the previous quarter (see figure 9). There were 734 appeals allowed between October and December 2024, 20 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, 2019/20 to 2024/25, 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, 2019/20 to 2024/25, 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, 2019/20 to 2024/25, 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	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	1,190	1,350	1,059	1,162	1,229	1,133	1,370	1,211	1,081	1,190	1,264	1,117	14,356
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	28.9	26.9	26.4	26.1	24.9	24.9	24.6	24.1	26.4	27.4	27.0	26.1	26.0
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	30.2	28.1	28.5	27.5	26.0	26.0	26.3	25.2	27.2	28.2	28.5	27.4	27.4
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	13.8	12.8	13.7	12.3	11.3	11.3	12.1	11.0	10.4	11.3	12.7	12.6	12.2
Hearings	Decisions	41	35	52	36	60	27	48	57	53	48	39	45	541
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	28.1	30.0	23.4	26.6	23.8	24.7	23.4	23.7	21.7	24.0	22.6	22.6	23.9
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	38.9	35.8	31.2	36.5	29.8	30.2	30.2	30.7	32.1	28.5	35.3	27.9	32.0
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	29.1	17.8	21.5	35.9	17.7	16.2	22.1	20.4	32.1	13.7	26.6	14.5	23.4
Inquiries	Decisions	15	20	16	6	24	13	28	12	10	15	29	11	199
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	35.0	33.6	27.1	27.4	29.6	27.9	30.4	24.0	33.0	29.0	27.4	30.9	28.9
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	36.0	38.5	35.9	46.5	42.8	31.2	33.8	31.3	38.2	30.9	28.5	32.3	34.9
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	9.3	31.4	22.3	37.5	29.6	10.0	12.9	21.2	21.2	11.1	9.5	13.8	20.8
All Cases	Decisions	1,246	1,405	1,127	1,204	1,313	1,173	1,446	1,280	1,280	1,253	1332	1,173	15,096
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	28.9	26.9	26.1	26.1	25.1	25.0	24.6	24.1	26.1	27.1	26.9	26.0	26.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	30.5	28.4	28.7	27.9	26.4	26.4	26.6	25.6	27.5	28.3	28.7	27.5	27.7
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	14.6	13.5	14.3	14.0	12.4	11.4	12.6	11.7	12.5	11.4	13.3	12.7	13.0

Enforcement

Note: 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	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	165	175	135	123	147	115	130	128	117	164	140	145	1,684
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	46.6	49.3	58.6	50.1	52.1	46.3	55.9	48.1	40.4	52.9	72.6	56.0	52.6
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	51.5	51.5	61.1	53.4	57.7	51.3	58.1	52.3	47.6	54.9	70.1	59.9	55.8
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	24.6	23.2	25.4	25.3	28.5	24.3	28.9	21.5	25.6	26.2	27.9	25.9	26.3
Hearings	Decisions	23	9	18	16	16	12	16	32	12	36	33	37	260
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	69.7	81.7	66.9	87.6	43.8	79.9	67.3	44.6	101.6	77.4	75.4	100.4	69.6
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	71.7	73.1	72.3	87.0	46.8	80.0	67.7	58.5	90.7	67.5	63.5	167.0	82.5
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	48.1	30.2	37.3	19.0	28.8	24.5	20.7	30.1	47.3	27.1	33.1	126.2	66.8
Inquiries	Decisions	17	22	23	40	22	10	26	14	11	14	17	16	232
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	81.0	50.6	90.6	47.1	77.9	63.0	30.9	33.3	21.9	26.0	28.0	43.4	47.1
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	63.0	65.2	83.0	63.1	70.5	58.5	50.4	48.3	37.6	47.4	37.0	56.8	59.0
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	37.1	45.4	36.4	25.5	38.6	18.1	34.1	46.5	24.0	44.3	24.4	36.0	37.3
All Cases	Decisions	205	206	176	179	185	137	172	174	140	214	190	198	2,176
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	48.6	50.5	62.1	53.0	51.9	51.7	57.2	45.8	40.6	52.9	70.2	56.0	53.9
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	54.7	53.9	65.1	58.6	58.2	54.4	57.8	53.1	50.5	56.5	66.0	79.7	59.4
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	30.1	27.5	29.5	26.7	30.4	25.3	29.4	26.2	30.7	28.4	30.1	73.0	35.9

Specialist

Note: 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

Specialist	Measure	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	50	33	133	57	58	45	49	58	50	71	51	39	674
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	42.4	42.3	23.4	25.6	26.7	29.5	31.9	46.3	46.3	33.4	23.0	40.9	31.0
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	48.4	45.5	31.4	39.4	32.4	40.8	35.8	43.2	43.2	48.4	45.3	54.7	39.9
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	28.8	28.6	23.9	33.9	25.1	31.2	19.6	29.7	23.5	36.4	39.4	38.0	28.6
Hearings	Decisions	3	2	8	0	1	2	2	5	2	1	5	3	29
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	57.1	79.9	77.9	-	100.7	88.0	26.1	65.2	64.0	-	110.7	112.6	64.9
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	57.1	79.9	82.1	-	100.7	88.0	26.1	67.0	64.0	-	110.7	112.6	71.5
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	7.8	21.4	28.2	-	0.0	0.0	0.0	17.5	0.0	-	0	0	24.0
Inquiries	Decisions	3	2	4	6	2	2	5	2	1	3	1	3	44
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	113.6	73.9	43.0	52.6	74.5	32.3	82.6	36.1	97.4	66.0	77.9	87.3	63.9
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	111.8	73.9	46.1	57.1	74.5	32.3	68.0	36.1	97.4	68.0	77.9	88.2	69.6
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	16.6	26.8	16.2	19.4	30.1	10.4	24.8	8.9	0.0	16.5	0	4.3	37.4
All Cases	Decisions	56	37	145	63	61	49	56	65	53	75	57	45	747
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	49.1	46.2	25.0	27.6	27.3	30.7	33.6	44.4	48.7	40.1	25.6	51.0	35.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	52.8	49.4	34.4	41.5	35.7	41.9	40.0	45.3	46.0	49.8	48.6	62.2	43.8
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	31.6	30.0	26.3	33.0	28.2	31.0	23.1	28.8	25.1	35.8	40.2	37.9	31.5

Tree Preservation order decisions have been removed from the average time calculations in this table due to problems with recorded validation dates, which mean that we are currently unable to accurately calculate their decision times.

9. Annex B – Detailed Information on timeliness (December 2024)

The information below is published today on the number and length of decisions made in December 2024 :

Note 1: 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	29.6	31.3	738
s78 planning appeals	Hearings	22.0	27.6	43
s78 planning appeals	Inquiries	30.9	32.7	10
Householder appeals	Written Representations	18.4	19.0	291
Enforcement appeals	Written Representations	56.0	59.9	145
Enforcement appeals	Hearings	100.4	167.0	37
Enforcement appeals	Inquiries	43.4	56.8	16

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:

Measure	s78 Written Representations [Note 1]	s78 Hearings	s78 Inquiries	Householder appeals
Weeks between valid date & start date
Median (average)	2.1	2.9	2.1	2.1
Mean (average)	2.6	4.6	2.0	2.2
Cases that started in December 2024	494	27	16	206
Weeks between start date & event date
Median (Average)	18.7	13.1	15.4	12.9
Mean (Average)	19.2	17.0	26.0	12.9
Cases where an event occurred during December 2024	584	34	10	395
Weeks between event date & decision date
Median (average)	3.4	3.3	9.4	2.1
Mean (average)	4.7	5.0	8.8	3.1
Cases that have been decided in December 2024	734	43	10	291

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.

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 2019/20

Year	Quarter	received	decided
2019/20	Apr - Jun	3,203	3,540
	Jul - Sep	2,849	3,705
	Oct - Dec	2,771	3,350
	Jan - Mar	2,894	2,759
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	2,584	2,056
	Oct - Dec	2,657	2,601
	Jan - Mar	2,578	2,481
2023/24	Apr - Jun	2,461	2,144
	Jul - Sep	2,412	2,487
	Oct - Dec	2,412	2,465
	Jan - Mar	2,406	2,578
2024/25	Apr - Jun	2,377	2,356
	Jul - Sep	2,391	2,605
	Oct - Dec	2,259	2,633

ANNEX C, Table b: s78 planning appeals, percentage allowed by procedure type, 2019/20 to 2024/25

Year	Quarter	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
2019/20	Apr - Jun	26%	51%	52%	27%
	Jul - Sep	23%	37%	42%	24%
	Oct - Dec	22%	42%	43%	23%
	Jan - Mar	22%	47%	48%	24%
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%	28%
	Jan - Mar	28%	45%	66%	30%
2023/24	Apr - Jun	28%	41%	65%	30%
	Jul - Sep	27%	39%	38%	28%
	Oct - Dec	24%	49%	67%	27%
	Jan - Mar	27%	50%	53%	28%
2024/25	Apr - Jun	27%	40%	67%	29%
	Jul - Sep	28%	37%	53%	29%
	Oct - Dec	26%	48%	64%	28%

ANNEX C, Table c: s78 planning appeals, number allowed by procedure type, 2019/20 to 2024/25

Year	Quarter	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
2019/20	Apr - Jun	877	62	31	970
	Jul - Sep	805	55	24	884
	Oct - Dec	684	67	27	778
	Jan - Mar	541	87	32	660
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	601	89	51	741
	Jan - Mar	637	66	42	745
2023/24	Apr - Jun	548	60	30	638
	Jul - Sep	614	54	26	694
	Oct - Dec	557	63	40	660
	Jan - Mar	641	62	27	730
2024/25	Apr - Jun	602	48	29	679
	Jul - Sep	672	56	26	754
	Oct - Dec	638	61	35	734

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).

Timeliness measures for all 12 months have been reproduced without Tree Preservation Order cases in this publication. This is due to problems with recorded validation dates, which mean that we are currently unable to accurately calculate their decision times.

Table	Revisions
Table 1	Events held: January, August and September 2024
Table 2	Received cases: June, July, August and September 2024
Table 2	Closed cases: September 2024
Table 3	Decisions: September 2024
Table 4	Planning: September 2024
Table 6	Inquiries Valid to decision (Median weeks): September 2024
Table 6	Hearings Valid to decision (Mean weeks): September 2024
Table 6	Inquiries Valid to decision (Mean weeks): September 2024
Table 7	Specialist: Valid to decision (Median weeks): August 2024
Table 7	Specialist: Valid to decision (Mean weeks): August 2024
Annex A Planning	Inquiries Mean weeks: September 2024
Annex A Planning	Inquiries Standard Deviation: September 2024
Annex A Specialist	Written Representations Mean: August 2024

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).

SAP HR – 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

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

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