Planning Approval Rate in East Hertfordshire
East Hertfordshire is somewhat stricter than the England average for planning permission: it approves 79.8% of applications and decides 94.5% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #278 of 310 English authorities. This is the approval-rate record for East Hertfordshire: 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 East Hertfordshire planning applications by postcode on PlanWatch.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,218 decisions (972 granted, 246 refused).
How East Hertfordshire compares
| East Hertfordshire | 79.8% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
East Hertfordshire is 7.2 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in East Hertfordshire?
East Hertfordshire is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 79.8% of the applications it decides (rank 278th of 310). That puts it somewhat stricter than the England average — 79.8% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 38th most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 246 of its 1,218 decisions were refusals (20.2%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 82.8% of major developments approved versus 83.2% of householder and other small-scale work, from 29 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 94.5% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,218 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 Thurrock (81.4%, more approving) and Colchester (79.6%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare East Hertfordshire 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 Hertfordshire
Live planning activity in East Hertfordshire District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 12 October 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in East Hertfordshire District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in East Hertfordshire District Council
Recent applications in East Hertfordshire District Council
This is a sample, not the full register. Search East Hertfordshire planning applications by postcode.
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Planning permission in East Hertfordshire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in East Hertfordshire?
On the latest official figures East Hertfordshire is somewhat stricter than the England average and in the stricter third of English authorities, approving 79.8% of the 1,218 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does East Hertfordshire approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 79.8% approved and 20.2% refused — 972 granted and 246 refused of 1,218 decisions, with major schemes approved at 82.8% and householder and other work at 83.2%.
How quickly does East Hertfordshire decide planning applications?
On timing East Hertfordshire is a little faster than average: 94.5% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is East Hertfordshire stricter than nearby councils?
East Hertfordshire's 79.8% approval rate makes it the 38th most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Thurrock approves 81.4% and Colchester 79.6%.
Can I use East Hertfordshire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application East Hertfordshire 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 Hertfordshire 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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