Planning Approval Rate in Islington
Islington is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 90.9% of applications and decides 95.9% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #108 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Islington, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Islington Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,451 decisions (1,319 granted, 132 refused).
How Islington compares
| Islington | 90.9% |
| London average | 82.5% |
| England average | 87% |
Islington is 3.9 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Islington?
Islington is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 90.9% of the applications it decides (rank 108th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 90.9% approved against an England average of 87%. Within London it is the 5th most approving of 34 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 82.5%. Refusals are uncommon here: 132 of its 1,451 decisions were refusals (9.1%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 88.9% of major developments approved versus 92.3% of householder and other small-scale work, from 9 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 95.9% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,451 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its London neighbours it sits between Southwark (91.4%, more approving) and Wandsworth (89.6%, stricter). For context in London, Hammersmith and Fulham approves the most (97.2%) and Barking and Dagenham the least (66.2%).
Compare Islington with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in London. See the full London league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Islington
Live planning activity in Islington Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 9 July 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Islington Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Islington Council
Recent applications in Islington Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Islington page.
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Planning permission in Islington: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Islington?
On the latest official figures Islington is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 90.9% of the 1,451 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Islington approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 90.9% approved and 9.1% refused — 1,319 granted and 132 refused of 1,451 decisions, with major schemes approved at 88.9% and householder and other work at 92.3%.
How quickly does Islington decide planning applications?
On timing Islington is a little faster than average: 95.9% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Islington stricter than nearby councils?
Islington's 90.9% approval rate makes it the 5th most approving of 34 authorities in London, against a 82.5% regional average. Neighbouring Southwark approves 91.4% and Wandsworth 89.6%.
Can I use Islington's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Islington 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 Islington 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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