Planning Approval Rate in East Suffolk
East Suffolk is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 92.2% of applications and decides 82.7% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #86 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in East Suffolk, 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 Suffolk Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,992 decisions (1,836 granted, 156 refused).
How East Suffolk compares
| East Suffolk | 92.2% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
East Suffolk is 5.2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in East Suffolk?
East Suffolk is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 92.2% of the applications it decides (rank 86th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 92.2% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 10th most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are uncommon here: 156 of its 1,992 decisions were refusals (7.8%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 96.4% of major developments approved versus 93.6% of householder and other small-scale work, from 56 major decisions.
On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 82.7% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,992 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 Ipswich (92.3%, more approving) and Great Yarmouth (91.8%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare East Suffolk 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 Suffolk
Live planning activity in East Suffolk Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 3 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in East Suffolk Council
Where planning activity concentrates in East Suffolk Council
Recent applications in East Suffolk Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch East Suffolk page.
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Planning permission in East Suffolk: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in East Suffolk?
On the latest official figures East Suffolk is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 92.2% of the 1,992 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does East Suffolk approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 92.2% approved and 7.8% refused — 1,836 granted and 156 refused of 1,992 decisions, with major schemes approved at 96.4% and householder and other work at 93.6%.
How quickly does East Suffolk decide planning applications?
On timing East Suffolk is among the slower authorities: 82.7% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is East Suffolk stricter than nearby councils?
East Suffolk's 92.2% approval rate makes it the 10th most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Ipswich approves 92.3% and Great Yarmouth 91.8%.
Can I use East Suffolk's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application East Suffolk 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 Suffolk 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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