Planning Approval Rate in Hackney

Hackney is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 81.5% of the applications it decides (rank 262nd of 310). That puts it somewhat stricter than the England average — 81.5% approved against an England average of 87%. Within London it is the 17th most approving of 34 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 82.5%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 249 of its 1,345 decisions were refusals (18.5%). On the split by scale it is strikingly more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 100% of major developments approved versus 82.4% of householder and other small-scale work, from 15 major decisions.

On timing it is about average on speed, deciding 89.2% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,345 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its London neighbours it sits between Hillingdon (83.8%, more approving) and Newham (81.5%, stricter). For context in London, Hammersmith and Fulham approves the most (97.2%) and Barking and Dagenham the least (66.2%).