Planning Approval Rate in Ipswich
Ipswich is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 92.3% of applications and decides 98.4% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #84 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Ipswich, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Ipswich Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 442 decisions (408 granted, 34 refused).
How Ipswich compares
| Ipswich | 92.3% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
Ipswich is 5.3 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Ipswich?
Ipswich is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 92.3% of the applications it decides (rank 84th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 92.3% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 9th most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are uncommon here: 34 of its 442 decisions were refusals (7.7%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 100% of major developments approved versus 93.2% of householder and other small-scale work, from 10 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 98.4% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 442 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 Hertsmere (92.5%, more approving) and East Suffolk (92.2%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare Ipswich 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 Ipswich
Live planning activity in Ipswich Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 10 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Ipswich Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Ipswich Borough Council
Recent applications in Ipswich Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Ipswich page.
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Planning permission in Ipswich: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Ipswich?
On the latest official figures Ipswich is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 92.3% of the 442 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Ipswich approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 92.3% approved and 7.7% refused — 408 granted and 34 refused of 442 decisions, with major schemes approved at 100% and householder and other work at 93.2%.
How quickly does Ipswich decide planning applications?
On timing Ipswich is among the faster authorities: 98.4% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Ipswich stricter than nearby councils?
Ipswich's 92.3% approval rate makes it the 9th most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Hertsmere approves 92.5% and East Suffolk 92.2%.
Can I use Ipswich's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Ipswich 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 Ipswich Borough 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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