Brentwood planning approval rate
Brentwood council approved 83.9% of planning applications and refused 16.1%, based on 11,998 decisions analysed. Ranked 36th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
83.9%
overall approval rate
11,998
Decisions analysed
10,067
Approved
1,931
Refused
17
Wards covered
Planning in Brentwood? Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Brentwood. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
79.8%
97.2%
96.2%
81.5%
80.7%
79.2%
78.8%
73.9%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Brentwood, mined from 11,998 proposal descriptions.
84.1%
83.5%
82.4%
73.9%
83.3%
86.4%
80.9%
71.6%
84.2%
79.9%
77.0%
78.9%
81.6%
80.8%
67.4%
62.5%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Brentwood. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Ingatestone, Fryerning And Mountnessing
84.6%
Shenfield
87.6%
Warley
84.3%
Hutton South
89.9%
Herongate, Ingrave And West Horndon
83.8%
Brizes And Doddinghurst
80.2%
Brentwood South
82.2%
Brentwood West
82.9%
Pilgrims Hatch
77.8%
Brentwood North
82.4%
Hutton East
80.2%
Tipps Cross
82.8%
Hutton North
88.3%
Hutton Central
88.4%
South Weald
78.1%
Brizes, Stondon Massey And South Weald
83.7%
Blackmore And Doddinghurst
81.1%
Wards in Brentwood
Ingatestone, Fryerning And Mountnessing
84.6% approval · 1,389 decisions
Shenfield
87.6% approval · 1,310 decisions
Warley
84.3% approval · 942 decisions
Hutton South
89.9% approval · 903 decisions
Herongate, Ingrave And West Horndon
83.8% approval · 848 decisions
Brizes And Doddinghurst
80.2% approval · 788 decisions
Brentwood South
82.2% approval · 746 decisions
Brentwood West
82.9% approval · 689 decisions
Pilgrims Hatch
77.8% approval · 688 decisions
Brentwood North
82.4% approval · 654 decisions
Hutton East
80.2% approval · 595 decisions
Tipps Cross
82.8% approval · 545 decisions
Hutton North
88.3% approval · 514 decisions
Hutton Central
88.4% approval · 509 decisions
South Weald
78.1% approval · 433 decisions
Brizes, Stondon Massey And South Weald
83.7% approval · 258 decisions
Blackmore And Doddinghurst
81.1% approval · 175 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Brentwood, showing how the council decides real applications.
Single storey rear extension. The proposed extension would extend 6m beyond the · Blackmore And Doddinghurst · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Construction of new entrance porch and reinstatement of side window. · Hutton East · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Single storey front & rear extension, fenestration alterations and garage conver · Brentwood South · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Brentwood, 1 in 6 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Brentwood
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Brentwood →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Brentwood
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 11,998 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Brentwood
What is the planning approval rate in Brentwood?
Based on 11,998 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Brentwood approved 83.9% of applications and refused 16.1%. The council is ranked 36th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Brentwood?
Brentwood refuses 16.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 6. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 11,998 decided applications since 2020, 1,931 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Brentwood have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Brentwood are in Hutton South (89.9%), Hutton Central (88.4%), and Hutton North (88.3%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Brentwood?
The most common planning application types in Brentwood are: Full (7,294 decisions, 79.8% approved), Trees (1,586, 97.2%), and Discharge of Conditions (1,351, 96.2%).
How long does a planning application take in Brentwood?
Planning applications in Brentwood take an average of 9.4 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 11,983 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is slower than the 8-week statutory target for householder applications (the statutory targets are 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments). PlanningLens measures the actual time each application takes, not just the target. Brentwood decides approximately 2,000 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Brentwood?
You can search planning applications in Brentwood directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 11,998 historical decisions in Brentwood to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Brentwood calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Brentwood's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at planninglens.co.uk/methodology.