Planning Approval Rate in Chichester
Chichester is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89.5% of applications and decides 97.1% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #136 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Chichester, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Chichester District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 929 decisions (831 granted, 98 refused).
How Chichester compares
| Chichester | 89.5% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Chichester is 2.5 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Chichester?
Chichester is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89.5% of the applications it decides (rank 136th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89.5% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 30th most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 98 of its 929 decisions were refusals (10.5%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 82.9% of major developments approved versus 94.1% of householder and other small-scale work, from 35 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 97.1% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 929 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its South East neighbours it sits between Hastings (89.7%, more approving) and Swale (89.5%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare Chichester with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Chichester
Live planning activity in Chichester District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 21 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Chichester District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Chichester District Council
Recent applications in Chichester District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Chichester page.
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Planning permission in Chichester: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Chichester?
On the latest official figures Chichester is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89.5% of the 929 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Chichester approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89.5% approved and 10.5% refused — 831 granted and 98 refused of 929 decisions, with major schemes approved at 82.9% and householder and other work at 94.1%.
How quickly does Chichester decide planning applications?
On timing Chichester is among the faster authorities: 97.1% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Chichester stricter than nearby councils?
Chichester's 89.5% approval rate makes it the 30th most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Hastings approves 89.7% and Swale 89.5%.
Can I use Chichester's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Chichester 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 Chichester District 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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