Planning Approval Rate in East Cambridgeshire
East Cambridgeshire is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 86.9% of applications and decides 94.1% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #189 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in East Cambridgeshire, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across East Cambridgeshire District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 725 decisions (630 granted, 95 refused).
How East Cambridgeshire compares
| East Cambridgeshire | 86.9% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
East Cambridgeshire is about average for England.
How hard is it to get planning permission in East Cambridgeshire?
East Cambridgeshire is a little stricter than the median English authority, granting 86.9% of the applications it decides (rank 189th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 86.9% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 22nd most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 95 of its 725 decisions were refusals (13.1%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 92.3% of major developments approved versus 89.4% of householder and other small-scale work, from 26 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 94.1% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 725 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its East of England neighbours it sits between Fenland (87%, more approving) and Maldon (86.8%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare East Cambridgeshire with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East of England. See the full East of England league table.
Approval rate by development scale in East Cambridgeshire
Live planning activity in East Cambridgeshire District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 24 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in East Cambridgeshire District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in East Cambridgeshire District Council
Recent applications in East Cambridgeshire District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch East Cambridgeshire page.
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Planning permission in East Cambridgeshire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in East Cambridgeshire?
On the latest official figures East Cambridgeshire is close to the England average and a little stricter than the median English authority, approving 86.9% of the 725 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does East Cambridgeshire approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 86.9% approved and 13.1% refused — 630 granted and 95 refused of 725 decisions, with major schemes approved at 92.3% and householder and other work at 89.4%.
How quickly does East Cambridgeshire decide planning applications?
On timing East Cambridgeshire is a little faster than average: 94.1% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is East Cambridgeshire stricter than nearby councils?
East Cambridgeshire's 86.9% approval rate makes it the 22nd most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Fenland approves 87% and Maldon 86.8%.
Can I use East Cambridgeshire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application East Cambridgeshire 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 East Cambridgeshire 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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