Planning Approval Rate in Westminster
Westminster is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 86.1% of applications and decides 84.1% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #204 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Westminster, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Westminster.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 4,828 decisions (4,159 granted, 669 refused).
How Westminster compares
| Westminster | 86.1% |
| London average | 82.5% |
| England average | 87% |
Westminster is about average for England.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Westminster?
Westminster is a little stricter than the median English authority, granting 86.1% of the applications it decides (rank 204th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 86.1% approved against an England average of 87%. Within London it is the 12th most approving of 34 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 82.5%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 669 of its 4,828 decisions were refusals (13.9%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 90% of major developments approved versus 86.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 20 major decisions.
On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 84.1% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 4,828 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its London neighbours it sits between Merton (87.7%, more approving) and Haringey (85.3%, stricter). For context in London, Hammersmith and Fulham approves the most (97.2%) and Barking and Dagenham the least (66.2%).
Compare Westminster with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in London. See the full London league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Westminster
Live planning activity in Westminster
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 Westminster
Where planning activity concentrates in Westminster
Recent applications in Westminster
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Westminster page.
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Planning permission in Westminster: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Westminster?
On the latest official figures Westminster is close to the England average and a little stricter than the median English authority, approving 86.1% of the 4,828 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Westminster approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 86.1% approved and 13.9% refused — 4,159 granted and 669 refused of 4,828 decisions, with major schemes approved at 90% and householder and other work at 86.7%.
How quickly does Westminster decide planning applications?
On timing Westminster is among the slower authorities: 84.1% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Westminster stricter than nearby councils?
Westminster's 86.1% approval rate makes it the 12th most approving of 34 authorities in London, against a 82.5% regional average. Neighbouring Merton approves 87.7% and Haringey 85.3%.
Can I use Westminster's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Westminster 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 Westminster 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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