Planning Approval Rate in Chesterfield
Chesterfield is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89% of applications and decides 86.2% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #151 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Chesterfield, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Chesterfield Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 327 decisions (291 granted, 36 refused).
How Chesterfield compares
| Chesterfield | 89% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Chesterfield is 2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Chesterfield?
Chesterfield is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89% of the applications it decides (rank 151st of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 25th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 36 of its 327 decisions were refusals (11%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 100% of major developments approved versus 89.5% of householder and other small-scale work, from 20 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 86.2% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 327 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 Nottingham (89.1%, more approving) and Hinckley and Bosworth (88.2%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare Chesterfield with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Chesterfield
Live planning activity in Chesterfield Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 9 July 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Chesterfield Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Chesterfield Borough Council
Recent applications in Chesterfield Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Chesterfield page.
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Planning permission in Chesterfield: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Chesterfield?
On the latest official figures Chesterfield is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89% of the 327 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Chesterfield approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89% approved and 11% refused — 291 granted and 36 refused of 327 decisions, with major schemes approved at 100% and householder and other work at 89.5%.
How quickly does Chesterfield decide planning applications?
On timing Chesterfield is a little slower than average: 86.2% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Chesterfield stricter than nearby councils?
Chesterfield's 89% approval rate makes it the 25th most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Nottingham approves 89.1% and Hinckley and Bosworth 88.2%.
Can I use Chesterfield's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield 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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