Test Valley · Planning record
Planning odds in Test Valley.
Since 2016, Test Valley has approved 59% of the major housing applications it has decided. A yes takes a median of just under a year; a no comes in about four months. About one appeal in three succeeds.
On this page
The numbers
Every full or outline application for 10 or more homes that Test Valley Borough Council received between February 2016 and September 2026.
- Applications
- 156, proposing about 11,000 homes where the number is stated
- Approved
- 48 of the 82 decided (59%)
- Refused
- 34 of the 82 decided (41%)
- Withdrawn
- 21, about one application in seven
- Not yet decided
- 52, many already agreed by a planning committee and waiting on a legal agreement
- Time to approval
- 11.6 months (median)
- Time to refusal
- 4.4 months (median)
- Appeals
- 21: 6 allowed, 11 dismissed, 4 withdrawn
Outcomes over time
Grouped by the year the council received the application.
| Received | Applications | Approved | Refused | Withdrawn | Not yet decided | Approved, of those decided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 to 2019 | 65 | 30 | 20 | 11 | 3 | 60% |
| 2020 to 2022 | 27 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 63% |
| 2023 to 2026 | 64 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 47 | 46% |
| All | 156 | 48 | 34 | 21 | 52 | 59% |
One application received in 2018 closed with no further action, so that row and the total each count one fewer across the outcome columns.
Read the recent figures with care. Refusals arrive much faster than approvals, so the first decisions on any batch of applications lean towards refusals. Most applications received since 2023 haven't been decided yet, and the 46% will move as they are.
What makes a difference
Three patterns stand out. They describe what has happened in the past, not the chances for any one site.
| Group | Approved | Refused | Approved, of those decided |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full applications | 37 | 22 | 63% |
| Outline applications | 11 | 12 | 48% |
| Decided by a planning committee | 37 | 12 | 76% |
| Decided by council officers | 11 | 21 | 34% |
| 10 to 49 homes | 13 | 20 | 39% |
| 50 to 99 homes | 4 | 5 | 44% |
| 100 homes or more | 5 | 4 | 56% |
- Outline applications fare worse. Outline is the route most land promoters take, because it settles the principle of building before the detail. Here it has succeeded less than half the time.
- Most refusals come from officers. Council officers decide many applications themselves; larger or contested schemes go to a planning committee. Committees see a different mix of schemes, often ones officers recommend, so this is not a like-for-like comparison.
- Larger schemes have done better. The size bands cover only the 51 decided applications that state a number of homes, and the larger bands hold nine each, so treat this as a pattern to watch rather than a rule.
Appeals
When the council refuses, the applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Of the 21 appeals on these applications, 6 were allowed, 11 dismissed and 4 withdrawn. Of the 17 the Inspectorate decided, 35% were allowed.
Two recent appeals in Romsey were both allowed. Gladman Developments' outline application for up to 270 homes east of Halterworth Lane was refused in April 2024 and allowed in April 2025. Churchill Retirement Living's 47 retirement flats at Edwina Mountbatten House were refused in March 2024 and allowed that December.
Along Walworth Road at Picket Piece, east of Andover, 18 applications since 2016 have proposed about 700 homes between them. Of the 13 decided, nine were refused, and three appeals were dismissed.
What this means for you
- Plan for the wait. A refusal usually comes within five months; an approval takes about a year, and longer for 100 homes or more. Ask a promoter what you're paid while you wait.
- Ask what happens on a withdrawal. One application in seven is withdrawn. Check what your agreement says if the promoter withdraws or walks away.
- Ask who pays for an appeal. Appeals are a real second chance, but most fail. Ask whether the promoter will fund one, and whether any of the cost comes off your share.
- Check the record locally. Ask any promoter or housebuilder for its applications in Test Valley, then look them up on the council's register. See who is promoting land in Test Valley now.
More in our guide to choosing a promoter.
About this data
- Source: Test Valley Borough Council's planning register, collected by the PlanIt aggregator and downloaded on 13 October 2026. Appeal outcomes come from the same register.
- Scope: full and outline applications for housing that PlanIt classes as large. Where an application states a number of homes, every one is for 10 or more. Reserved matters, changes to conditions, listed building consents and screening requests are left out.
- Approved means a permission has been issued, including outline permission and permission with conditions. Not yet decided includes schemes a committee has agreed where the decision notice hasn't been issued, usually while a legal agreement is signed.
- Times run from the date the council received the application to the date of its decision.
- The council's register is the authority. If you spot an error, email [email protected]. We fix factual errors within five working days. Our method
This page is general information, not planning, legal or valuation advice.
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