Planning Approval Rate in North Kesteven
North Kesteven is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 97.2% of applications and decides 97.5% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #3 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in North Kesteven, 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 Kesteven District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 637 decisions (619 granted, 18 refused).
How North Kesteven compares
| North Kesteven | 97.2% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
North Kesteven is 10.2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in North Kesteven?
North Kesteven is among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, granting 97.2% of the applications it decides (rank 3rd of 310). That puts it markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council — 97.2% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are rare here: 18 of its 637 decisions were refusals (2.8%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 96.3% of major developments approved versus 98.4% of householder and other small-scale work, from 27 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 97.5% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 637 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. It is more approving than its nearest East Midlands peer by rank, Mansfield (96.4%). At the other end of East Midlands, Oadby and Wigston is the strictest authority, approving 71.7%.
Compare North Kesteven with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in North Kesteven
Live planning activity in North Kesteven District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 1 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in North Kesteven District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in North Kesteven District Council
Recent applications in North Kesteven District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch North Kesteven page.
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Planning permission in North Kesteven: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in North Kesteven?
On the latest official figures North Kesteven is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council and among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, approving 97.2% of the 637 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does North Kesteven approve or refuse?
Refusals are rare here: 97.2% approved and 2.8% refused — 619 granted and 18 refused of 637 decisions, with major schemes approved at 96.3% and householder and other work at 98.4%.
How quickly does North Kesteven decide planning applications?
On timing North Kesteven is among the faster authorities: 97.5% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is North Kesteven stricter than nearby councils?
North Kesteven's 97.2% approval rate makes it the most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Mansfield approves 96.4%.
Can I use North Kesteven's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application North Kesteven 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 Kesteven 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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