Planning Approval Rate in Maldon
Maldon is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 86.8% of applications and decides 87.6% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #191 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Maldon, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Maldon District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 394 decisions (342 granted, 52 refused).
How Maldon compares
| Maldon | 86.8% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
Maldon is about average for England.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Maldon?
Maldon is a little stricter than the median English authority, granting 86.8% of the applications it decides (rank 191st of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 86.8% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 23rd most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 52 of its 394 decisions were refusals (13.2%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 80% of major developments approved versus 90.9% of householder and other small-scale work, from 15 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 87.6% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 394 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 East Cambridgeshire (86.9%, more approving) and Babergh (86.5%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare Maldon 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 Maldon
Live planning activity in Maldon District 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 Maldon District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Maldon District Council
Recent applications in Maldon District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Maldon page.
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Planning permission in Maldon: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Maldon?
On the latest official figures Maldon is close to the England average and a little stricter than the median English authority, approving 86.8% of the 394 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Maldon approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 86.8% approved and 13.2% refused — 342 granted and 52 refused of 394 decisions, with major schemes approved at 80% and householder and other work at 90.9%.
How quickly does Maldon decide planning applications?
On timing Maldon is a little slower than average: 87.6% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Maldon stricter than nearby councils?
Maldon's 86.8% approval rate makes it the 23rd most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring East Cambridgeshire approves 86.9% and Babergh 86.5%.
Can I use Maldon's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Maldon 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 Maldon 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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