Planning Approval Rate in Hartlepool Development Corporation
Hartlepool Development Corporation is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 90.2% of applications and decides 82.9% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #124 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Hartlepool Development Corporation, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Hartlepool Development Corporation.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 41 decisions (37 granted, 4 refused).
How Hartlepool Development Corporation compares
| Hartlepool Development Corporation | 90.2% |
| North East average | 91.7% |
| England average | 87% |
Hartlepool Development Corporation is 3.2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Hartlepool Development Corporation?
Hartlepool Development Corporation is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 90.2% of the applications it decides (rank 124th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 90.2% approved against an England average of 87%. Within North East it is the 11th most approving of 14 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 91.7%. Refusals are uncommon here: 4 of its 41 decisions were refusals (9.8%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 100% of major developments approved versus 92% of householder and other small-scale work, from 5 major decisions.
On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 82.9% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 41 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its North East neighbours it sits between Darlington (90.2%, more approving) and Middlesbrough Development Corporation (89%, stricter). For context in North East, Redcar and Cleveland approves the most (96.7%) and Middlesbrough the least (77.2%).
Compare Hartlepool Development Corporation with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in North East. See the full North East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Hartlepool Development Corporation
Embed this stat
Free to embed on your site with a credit link to PlanWatch:
Planning permission in Hartlepool Development Corporation: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Hartlepool Development Corporation?
On the latest official figures Hartlepool Development Corporation is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 90.2% of the 41 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Hartlepool Development Corporation approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 90.2% approved and 9.8% refused — 37 granted and 4 refused of 41 decisions, with major schemes approved at 100% and householder and other work at 92%.
How quickly does Hartlepool Development Corporation decide planning applications?
On timing Hartlepool Development Corporation is among the slower authorities: 82.9% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Hartlepool Development Corporation stricter than nearby councils?
Hartlepool Development Corporation's 90.2% approval rate makes it the 11th most approving of 14 authorities in North East, against a 91.7% regional average. Neighbouring Darlington approves 90.2% and Middlesbrough Development Corporation 89%.
Can I use Hartlepool Development Corporation's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Hartlepool Development Corporation 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 Hartlepool Development Corporation 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.
Download the data (JSON) · CSV · National league table · North East league table
Track live decisions in Hartlepool Development Corporation
Set a free alert and get emailed when a planning application near you is decided.
See planning in Hartlepool Development CorporationRelated: tree surveys in Hartlepool Development Corporation · all applications