Planning Approval Rate in Thanet
Thanet is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 88.9% of applications and decides 83.3% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #153 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Thanet, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Thanet District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 773 decisions (687 granted, 86 refused).
How Thanet compares
| Thanet | 88.9% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Thanet is 1.9 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Thanet?
Thanet is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 88.9% of the applications it decides (rank 153rd of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 88.9% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 33rd most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 86 of its 773 decisions were refusals (11.1%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 82.9% of major developments approved versus 93.2% of householder and other small-scale work, from 35 major decisions.
On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 83.3% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 773 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 Eastleigh (89.2%, more approving) and Brighton and Hove (88.7%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare Thanet with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Thanet
Live planning activity in Thanet District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 31 July 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Thanet District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Thanet District Council
Recent applications in Thanet District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Thanet page.
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Planning permission in Thanet: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Thanet?
On the latest official figures Thanet is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 88.9% of the 773 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Thanet approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 88.9% approved and 11.1% refused — 687 granted and 86 refused of 773 decisions, with major schemes approved at 82.9% and householder and other work at 93.2%.
How quickly does Thanet decide planning applications?
On timing Thanet is among the slower authorities: 83.3% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Thanet stricter than nearby councils?
Thanet's 88.9% approval rate makes it the 33rd most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Eastleigh approves 89.2% and Brighton and Hove 88.7%.
Can I use Thanet's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Thanet 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 Thanet 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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