Planning Approval Rate in East Lindsey
East Lindsey is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 92.9% of applications and decides 86.4% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #69 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in East Lindsey, 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 Lindsey District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 818 decisions (760 granted, 58 refused).
How East Lindsey compares
| East Lindsey | 92.9% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
East Lindsey is 5.9 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in East Lindsey?
East Lindsey is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 92.9% of the applications it decides (rank 69th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 92.9% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 11th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 58 of its 818 decisions were refusals (7.1%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 91.4% of major developments approved versus 93.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 58 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 86.4% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 818 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 Broxtowe (93%, more approving) and West Lindsey (92.5%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare East Lindsey with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in East Lindsey
Live planning activity in East Lindsey District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 6 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in East Lindsey District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in East Lindsey District Council
Recent applications in East Lindsey District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch East Lindsey page.
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Planning permission in East Lindsey: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in East Lindsey?
On the latest official figures East Lindsey is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 92.9% of the 818 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does East Lindsey approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 92.9% approved and 7.1% refused — 760 granted and 58 refused of 818 decisions, with major schemes approved at 91.4% and householder and other work at 93.7%.
How quickly does East Lindsey decide planning applications?
On timing East Lindsey is a little slower than average: 86.4% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is East Lindsey stricter than nearby councils?
East Lindsey's 92.9% approval rate makes it the 11th most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Broxtowe approves 93% and West Lindsey 92.5%.
Can I use East Lindsey's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application East Lindsey 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 Lindsey 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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