Planning Approval Rate in Eastbourne
Eastbourne is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89.8% of applications and decides 83.2% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #130 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Eastbourne, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Eastbourne Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 315 decisions (283 granted, 32 refused).
How Eastbourne compares
| Eastbourne | 89.8% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Eastbourne is 2.8 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Eastbourne?
Eastbourne is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89.8% of the applications it decides (rank 130th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89.8% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 28th most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 32 of its 315 decisions were refusals (10.2%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 80% of major developments approved versus 92.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 10 major decisions.
On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 83.2% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 315 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 Horsham (89.8%, more approving) and Hastings (89.7%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare Eastbourne with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Eastbourne
Live planning activity in Eastbourne Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 17 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Eastbourne Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Eastbourne Council
Recent applications in Eastbourne Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Eastbourne page.
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Planning permission in Eastbourne: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Eastbourne?
On the latest official figures Eastbourne is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89.8% of the 315 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Eastbourne approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89.8% approved and 10.2% refused — 283 granted and 32 refused of 315 decisions, with major schemes approved at 80% and householder and other work at 92.7%.
How quickly does Eastbourne decide planning applications?
On timing Eastbourne is among the slower authorities: 83.2% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Eastbourne stricter than nearby councils?
Eastbourne's 89.8% approval rate makes it the 28th most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Horsham approves 89.8% and Hastings 89.7%.
Can I use Eastbourne's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Eastbourne 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 Eastbourne 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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