Planning Approval Rate in Uttlesford
Uttlesford is markedly stricter than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 76.8% of applications and decides 87.6% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #293 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Uttlesford, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Uttlesford District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,261 decisions (968 granted, 293 refused).
How Uttlesford compares
| Uttlesford | 76.8% |
| East of England average | 86.1% |
| England average | 87% |
Uttlesford is 10.2 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Uttlesford?
Uttlesford is among the ten per cent strictest authorities in England, granting 76.8% of the applications it decides (rank 293rd of 310). That puts it markedly stricter than the typical English council — 76.8% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East of England it is the 43rd most approving of 45 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 86.1%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 293 of its 1,261 decisions were refusals (23.2%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 88.6% of major developments approved versus 78% of householder and other small-scale work, from 35 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 87.6% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,261 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 Castle Point (77.2%, more approving) and Luton (76.3%, stricter). For context in East of England, Norwich approves the most (95.6%) and Epping Forest the least (66.1%).
Compare Uttlesford 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 Uttlesford
Live planning activity in Uttlesford 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 Uttlesford District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Uttlesford District Council
Recent applications in Uttlesford District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Uttlesford page.
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Planning permission in Uttlesford: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Uttlesford?
On the latest official figures Uttlesford is markedly stricter than the typical English council and among the ten per cent strictest authorities in England, approving 76.8% of the 1,261 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Uttlesford approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 76.8% approved and 23.2% refused — 968 granted and 293 refused of 1,261 decisions, with major schemes approved at 88.6% and householder and other work at 78%.
How quickly does Uttlesford decide planning applications?
On timing Uttlesford is a little slower than average: 87.6% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Uttlesford stricter than nearby councils?
Uttlesford's 76.8% approval rate makes it the 43rd most approving of 45 authorities in East of England, against a 86.1% regional average. Neighbouring Castle Point approves 77.2% and Luton 76.3%.
Can I use Uttlesford's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Uttlesford 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 Uttlesford 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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