Planning Approval Rate in Harlow
Harlow is somewhat stricter than the England average for planning permission: it approves 81.5% of applications and decides 92% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #264 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Harlow, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Harlow District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 275 decisions (224 granted, 51 refused).
How Harlow compares
| Harlow | 81.5% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
Harlow is 5.5 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Harlow?
Harlow is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 81.5% of the applications it decides (rank 264th of 310). That puts it somewhat stricter than the England average — 81.5% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 34th most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 51 of its 275 decisions were refusals (18.5%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 81.8% of major developments approved versus 81% of householder and other small-scale work, from 11 major decisions.
On timing it is about average on speed, deciding 92% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 275 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 Brentwood (83.3%, more approving) and Bedford (81.4%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare Harlow 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 Harlow
Live planning activity in Harlow District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 7 July 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Harlow District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Harlow District Council
Recent applications in Harlow District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Harlow page.
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Planning permission in Harlow: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Harlow?
On the latest official figures Harlow is somewhat stricter than the England average and in the stricter third of English authorities, approving 81.5% of the 275 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Harlow approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 81.5% approved and 18.5% refused — 224 granted and 51 refused of 275 decisions, with major schemes approved at 81.8% and householder and other work at 81%.
How quickly does Harlow decide planning applications?
On timing Harlow is about average on speed: 92% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Harlow stricter than nearby councils?
Harlow's 81.5% approval rate makes it the 34th most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Brentwood approves 83.3% and Bedford 81.4%.
Can I use Harlow's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Harlow 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 Harlow 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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