Planning Approval Rate in East Hampshire
East Hampshire is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 88.3% of applications and decides 87% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #160 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in East Hampshire, 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 Hampshire District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 583 decisions (515 granted, 68 refused).
How East Hampshire compares
| East Hampshire | 88.3% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
East Hampshire is 1.3 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in East Hampshire?
East Hampshire is a little stricter than the median English authority, granting 88.3% of the applications it decides (rank 160th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 88.3% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 35th most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 68 of its 583 decisions were refusals (11.7%). On the split by scale it is far tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 75% of major developments approved versus 92.5% of householder and other small-scale work, from 8 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 mid-sized caseload of 583 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 Brighton and Hove (88.7%, more approving) and Rother (88.2%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare East Hampshire with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in East Hampshire
Live planning activity in East Hampshire District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 31 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in East Hampshire District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in East Hampshire District Council
Recent applications in East Hampshire District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch East Hampshire page.
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Planning permission in East Hampshire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in East Hampshire?
On the latest official figures East Hampshire is close to the England average and a little stricter than the median English authority, approving 88.3% of the 583 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does East Hampshire approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 88.3% approved and 11.7% refused — 515 granted and 68 refused of 583 decisions, with major schemes approved at 75% and householder and other work at 92.5%.
How quickly does East Hampshire decide planning applications?
On timing East Hampshire 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 East Hampshire stricter than nearby councils?
East Hampshire's 88.3% approval rate makes it the 35th most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Brighton and Hove approves 88.7% and Rother 88.2%.
Can I use East Hampshire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application East Hampshire 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 Hampshire 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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