Planning Approval Rate in North Hertfordshire
North Hertfordshire is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 92.5% of applications and decides 86% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #75 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in North Hertfordshire, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across North Hertfordshire District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,071 decisions (991 granted, 80 refused).
How North Hertfordshire compares
| North Hertfordshire | 92.5% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
North Hertfordshire is 5.5 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in North Hertfordshire?
North Hertfordshire is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 92.5% of the applications it decides (rank 75th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 92.5% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 7th most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are uncommon here: 80 of its 1,071 decisions were refusals (7.5%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 87.5% of major developments approved versus 94% of householder and other small-scale work, from 32 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 86% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 1,071 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 Broadland (92.6%, more approving) and Hertsmere (92.5%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare North Hertfordshire 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 North Hertfordshire
Live planning activity in North Hertfordshire District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 25 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in North Hertfordshire District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in North Hertfordshire District Council
Recent applications in North Hertfordshire District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch North Hertfordshire page.
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Planning permission in North Hertfordshire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in North Hertfordshire?
On the latest official figures North Hertfordshire is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 92.5% of the 1,071 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does North Hertfordshire approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 92.5% approved and 7.5% refused — 991 granted and 80 refused of 1,071 decisions, with major schemes approved at 87.5% and householder and other work at 94%.
How quickly does North Hertfordshire decide planning applications?
On timing North Hertfordshire is a little slower than average: 86% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is North Hertfordshire stricter than nearby councils?
North Hertfordshire's 92.5% approval rate makes it the 7th most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Broadland approves 92.6% and Hertsmere 92.5%.
Can I use North Hertfordshire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application North Hertfordshire 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 North Hertfordshire 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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