Around 1 in 3 planning appeals succeeds nationally. But your individual chances depend heavily on why you were refused.
Across all appeal types, approximately 33–36% of planning appeals in England are allowed by the Planning Inspectorate. For householder applications specifically — extensions, conversions, outbuildings — the rate is typically 35–40%. For major developments the rate is lower, around 25–30%. These figures have been broadly stable for a decade, though they fluctuate slightly year to year.
The data comes from the Planning Inspectorate's published statistics. They report quarterly, broken down by appeal type, procedure, and region. It's worth looking at the most recent quarter before drawing conclusions — the national rate is an average across very different case types.
The nature of the refusal reason matters more than almost anything else. Design and character refusals — the most common type for householder applications — are overturned in appeals at a higher rate than most other grounds. This is because design judgements are inherently subjective, and inspectors frequently disagree with councils on what constitutes an unacceptable design.
By contrast, refusals on flood risk, highway safety, ecological impact, or Green Belt grounds tend to have lower overturn rates. These are technical matters where councils and inspectors typically share similar frameworks and where the evidence base is harder to challenge without specialist reports.
The most commonly refused — and most commonly overturned — reason in England is that a development would cause harm to the character and appearance of the area. If this is your refusal reason, you have grounds worth examining.
Having comparable approved applications nearby — similar scale, design, or use, in the same street or postcode area — significantly increases your chances. Inspectors give substantial weight to local precedent. If your neighbour built something similar and was approved, that is a material consideration in your favour.
The challenge is surfacing that precedent. Planning portals show recent decisions but miss withdrawn applications, enforcement records, and older data from pre-merger district councils. Planning Decoder's site intelligence layer pulls the full cluster — every application, approved, refused, and withdrawn, in your postcode area — so you can build a proper precedent argument before submitting your appeal.
Some local planning authorities are overturned far more often than others. The Planning Inspectorate publishes overturn rate data by LPA. Councils with very high overturn rates — sometimes above 50% — are sometimes placed in 'special measures' under the housing delivery test, which affects their ability to refuse certain applications.
If your council has a poor appeal record, that context is directly relevant to your case and should be referenced in your appeal statement. An inspector is more likely to scrutinise the council's reasoning carefully if the LPA has a history of decisions being overturned.
The vast majority of householder appeals are determined by written representations — where you and the council submit written statements and the inspector decides on the papers, with an accompanied site visit. There is no significant difference in success rates between written representations and hearings. The choice of procedure should be driven by the complexity of your case, not by assumptions about which route favours appellants.
Inquiries — the most formal procedure — are reserved for large or complex cases and are almost never appropriate for householder appeals. If an inspector proposes an inquiry for a straightforward householder case, that would be unusual enough to query.
Before submitting an appeal, understand exactly why you were refused and whether the inspector is likely to reach a different conclusion. Our free planning chatbot can talk you through your refusal reasons and give you an initial read on your options. For a written analysis with comparable decisions at nearby properties and a structured response to each refusal ground, commission a Site Intelligence Report — delivered in 48 hours.
Your appeal likelihood depends on comparable decisions at nearby properties and the specific refusal grounds applied. A Site Intelligence Report analyses both — and shows you the evidence base for your appeal before you commit. Delivered in 48 hours.
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