February’s Market Insight Report is now available

February saw a strong start to the year for planning applications, with a noticeable uptick across most regions and application types. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key trends.

Overall Growth in Applications

A total of 49,745 applications were submitted in February 2025 – a 9% rise from January and a 3% increase compared to February 2024. This equates to over 1,500 more applications year-on-year.

Regional shifts

Yorkshire and The Humber led the way in year-on-year growth, with applications rising 10% (+326), while the South West was the only region to see a slight dip (-1%).

Compared to January, all regions saw an increase, with Yorkshire and The Humber and the North West experiencing the biggest jumps at 15% and 16% respectively. The South East recorded the largest real-term increase, with 1,000 more applications than the previous month.

Who’s submitting?

Householder applications continued to climb, rising 2% year-on-year and seeing a 13% surge from January. Larger Home Extensions also saw steady growth, up 9% (+98 applications). Full applications followed a similar pattern, increasing 12% month-on-month, though they dipped slightly compared to February 2024 (-2%, or 137 fewer applications). Meanwhile, Outline applications saw a modest 5% decline (-18 applications), and Telecommunications applications took the biggest hit, dropping 30% (-38 applications) year-on-year.

Notable trends

Change of use applications saw a significant surge, with commercial-to-residential conversions up 44% and mixed-use conversions soaring by 83%. Smaller application types also experienced strong growth, with Advertising Consents, Lawful Development Certificates, and Larger Home Extensions all rising between 9% and 16% compared to last year.