Planning Approval Rate in Lincoln
Lincoln is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 95.1% of applications and decides 87.5% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #22 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Lincoln, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Lincoln City Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 329 decisions (313 granted, 16 refused).
How Lincoln compares
| Lincoln | 95.1% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Lincoln is 8.1 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Lincoln?
Lincoln is among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, granting 95.1% of the applications it decides (rank 22nd of 310). That puts it markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council — 95.1% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 6th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are rare here: 16 of its 329 decisions were refusals (4.9%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 100% of major developments approved versus 97.6% of householder and other small-scale work, from 3 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 87.5% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 329 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its East Midlands neighbours it sits between Melton (95.2%, more approving) and North West Leicestershire (94.3%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare Lincoln with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Lincoln
Live planning activity in Lincoln City Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 24 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Lincoln City Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Lincoln City Council
Recent applications in Lincoln City Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Lincoln page.
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Planning permission in Lincoln: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Lincoln?
On the latest official figures Lincoln is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council and among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, approving 95.1% of the 329 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Lincoln approve or refuse?
Refusals are rare here: 95.1% approved and 4.9% refused — 313 granted and 16 refused of 329 decisions, with major schemes approved at 100% and householder and other work at 97.6%.
How quickly does Lincoln decide planning applications?
On timing Lincoln is a little slower than average: 87.5% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Lincoln stricter than nearby councils?
Lincoln's 95.1% approval rate makes it the 6th most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Melton approves 95.2% and North West Leicestershire 94.3%.
Can I use Lincoln's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Lincoln 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 Lincoln City 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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