Planning Approval Rate in Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 91.2% of applications and decides 97.4% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #102 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Mid Sussex, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Mid Sussex District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,104 decisions (1,007 granted, 97 refused).
How Mid Sussex compares
| Mid Sussex | 91.2% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Mid Sussex is 4.2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Mid Sussex?
Mid Sussex is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 91.2% of the applications it decides (rank 102nd of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 91.2% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 21st most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 97 of its 1,104 decisions were refusals (8.8%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 94.1% of major developments approved versus 92% of householder and other small-scale work, from 51 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 97.4% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 1,104 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its South East neighbours it sits between Basingstoke and Deane (91.5%, more approving) and Isle of Wight (91.2%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare Mid Sussex with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Mid Sussex
Live planning activity in Mid Sussex District 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 Mid Sussex District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Mid Sussex District Council
Recent applications in Mid Sussex District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Mid Sussex page.
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Planning permission in Mid Sussex: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Mid Sussex?
On the latest official figures Mid Sussex is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 91.2% of the 1,104 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Mid Sussex approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 91.2% approved and 8.8% refused — 1,007 granted and 97 refused of 1,104 decisions, with major schemes approved at 94.1% and householder and other work at 92%.
How quickly does Mid Sussex decide planning applications?
On timing Mid Sussex is among the faster authorities: 97.4% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Mid Sussex stricter than nearby councils?
Mid Sussex's 91.2% approval rate makes it the 21st most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Basingstoke and Deane approves 91.5% and Isle of Wight 91.2%.
Can I use Mid Sussex's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Mid Sussex 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 Mid Sussex 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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