Planning Approval Rate in Epping Forest
Epping Forest is markedly stricter than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 66.1% of applications and decides 93.6% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #310 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Epping Forest, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Epping Forest District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,350 decisions (893 granted, 457 refused).
How Epping Forest compares
| Epping Forest | 66.1% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
Epping Forest is 20.9 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Epping Forest?
Epping Forest is the strictest planning authority in England on this measure, granting 66.1% of the applications it decides (rank 310th of 310). That puts it markedly stricter than the typical English council — 66.1% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the strictest of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are common here: 457 of its 1,350 decisions were refusals (33.9%). On the split by scale it is far tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 44.1% of major developments approved versus 70.6% of householder and other small-scale work, from 34 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 93.6% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,350 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. It is stricter than its nearest East of England peer by rank, Luton (76.3%). At the other end of East of England, Norwich is the most approving, at 95.6%.
Compare Epping Forest 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 Epping Forest
Live planning activity in Epping Forest District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 25 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Epping Forest District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Epping Forest District Council
Recent applications in Epping Forest District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Epping Forest page.
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Planning permission in Epping Forest: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Epping Forest?
On the latest official figures Epping Forest is markedly stricter than the typical English council and the strictest planning authority in England on this measure, approving 66.1% of the 1,350 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Epping Forest approve or refuse?
Refusals are common here: 66.1% approved and 33.9% refused — 893 granted and 457 refused of 1,350 decisions, with major schemes approved at 44.1% and householder and other work at 70.6%.
How quickly does Epping Forest decide planning applications?
On timing Epping Forest is a little faster than average: 93.6% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Epping Forest stricter than nearby councils?
Epping Forest's 66.1% approval rate makes it the strictest of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Luton approves 76.3%.
Can I use Epping Forest's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Epping Forest 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 Epping Forest 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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