Planning Approval Rate in Boston
Boston is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 90.9% of applications and decides 87% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #110 of 310 English authorities. This is the approval-rate record for Boston: how hard it is to get planning permission, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours, from official government statistics.
Looking for a particular application rather than the statistics? Search Boston planning applications by postcode on PlanWatch.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 308 decisions (280 granted, 28 refused).
How Boston compares
| Boston | 90.9% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Boston is 3.9 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Boston?
Boston is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 90.9% of the applications it decides (rank 110th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 90.9% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 17th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 28 of its 308 decisions were refusals (9.1%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 85.7% of major developments approved versus 94.4% of householder and other small-scale work, from 35 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 87% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 308 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its East Midlands neighbours it sits between Newark and Sherwood (91%, more approving) and Rushcliffe (90.8%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare Boston with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Boston
Live planning activity in Boston Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 8 October 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Boston Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Boston Borough Council
Recent applications in Boston Borough Council
This is a sample, not the full register. Search Boston planning applications by postcode.
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Planning permission in Boston: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Boston?
On the latest official figures Boston is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 90.9% of the 308 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Boston approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 90.9% approved and 9.1% refused — 280 granted and 28 refused of 308 decisions, with major schemes approved at 85.7% and householder and other work at 94.4%.
How quickly does Boston decide planning applications?
On timing Boston is a little slower than average: 87% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Boston stricter than nearby councils?
Boston's 90.9% approval rate makes it the 17th most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Newark and Sherwood approves 91% and Rushcliffe 90.8%.
Can I use Boston's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Boston decided, not a prediction for any individual application; your outcome depends on the site, the proposal, local planning policy and any objections.
Methodology & limits
Approval, refusal and in-time rates come from the government's official PS2 planning application statistics (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government), covering 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. This dataset is England-only and published annually, so it lags live activity. Live figures are the applications PlanWatch has collected for Boston Borough Council and are not a complete council register. Refusal reasons and delegated-vs-committee splits are not published in this data.
This is a historic average, not a prediction. It cannot tell you whether your application will be approved — that depends on your site, proposal, local policy and any objections.
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