Planning Approval Rate in Tunbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 93.6% of applications and decides 96.1% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #52 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Tunbridge Wells, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,217 decisions (1,139 granted, 78 refused).
How Tunbridge Wells compares
| Tunbridge Wells | 93.6% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Tunbridge Wells is 6.6 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Tunbridge Wells?
Tunbridge Wells is in the more approving third of English authorities, granting 93.6% of the applications it decides (rank 52nd of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 93.6% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 11th most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 78 of its 1,217 decisions were refusals (6.4%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 85.2% of major developments approved versus 95.2% of householder and other small-scale work, from 27 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 96.1% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,217 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 Havant (94%, more approving) and Canterbury (93.4%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare Tunbridge Wells with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Tunbridge Wells
Live planning activity in Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 4 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Recent applications in Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Tunbridge Wells page.
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Planning permission in Tunbridge Wells: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Tunbridge Wells?
On the latest official figures Tunbridge Wells is somewhat more approving than the England average and in the more approving third of English authorities, approving 93.6% of the 1,217 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Tunbridge Wells approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 93.6% approved and 6.4% refused — 1,139 granted and 78 refused of 1,217 decisions, with major schemes approved at 85.2% and householder and other work at 95.2%.
How quickly does Tunbridge Wells decide planning applications?
On timing Tunbridge Wells is a little faster than average: 96.1% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Tunbridge Wells stricter than nearby councils?
Tunbridge Wells's 93.6% approval rate makes it the 11th most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Havant approves 94% and Canterbury 93.4%.
Can I use Tunbridge Wells's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Tunbridge Wells 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 Tunbridge Wells Borough 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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