Brentwood Council approves 79.4% of planning applications, based on 7,771 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Brentwood sits 5.6 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,216 decided applications, Brentwood Council approved 87.3% of planning applications in 2025. Across 7,771 decisions on record (January 2018 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Brentwood is 79.4%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Brentwood council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Brentwood.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 5,948 | 1,501 | 7,449 | 79.8% |
| Trees | 1,584 | 45 | 1,629 | 97.2% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 1,337 | 52 | 1,389 | 96.3% |
| Other | 684 | 155 | 839 | 81.5% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 288 | 205 | 493 | 58.4% |
| Listed Building | 244 | 59 | 303 | 80.5% |
| Advertisement | 135 | 36 | 171 | 78.9% |
| Change of Use | 66 | 18 | 84 | 78.6% |
| Prior Approval | 17 | 6 | 23 | 73.9% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on, your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ingatestone, Fryerning And Mountnessing | 1,204 | 236 | 1,440 | 83.6% |
| Shenfield | 1,186 | 172 | 1,358 | 87.3% |
| Warley | 805 | 170 | 975 | 82.6% |
| Hutton South | 836 | 96 | 932 | 89.7% |
| Herongate, Ingrave And West Horndon | 739 | 152 | 891 | 82.9% |
| Brizes And Doddinghurst | 632 | 161 | 793 | 79.7% |
| Brentwood South | 629 | 136 | 765 | 82.2% |
| Brentwood West | 582 | 124 | 706 | 82.4% |
| Pilgrims Hatch | 542 | 163 | 705 | 76.9% |
| Brentwood North | 552 | 120 | 672 | 82.1% |
| Hutton East | 493 | 131 | 624 | 79.0% |
| Tipps Cross | 451 | 100 | 551 | 81.9% |
| Hutton North | 467 | 64 | 531 | 87.9% |
| Hutton Central | 450 | 60 | 510 | 88.2% |
| South Weald | 338 | 98 | 436 | 77.5% |
| Brizes, Stondon Massey And South Weald | 228 | 54 | 282 | 80.9% |
| Blackmore And Doddinghurst | 159 | 38 | 197 | 80.7% |
How Brentwood’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 3.8pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Brentwood council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00529/HHA Hutton East | Demolition of rear conservatory. Alterations to the roof, including provision of | Approved |
| 26/00849/HHA Brentwood West | Single storey rear extension and alterations to fenestration. | Approved |
| 26/00847/PN42 Warley | Single storey rear extension. The proposed extension would extend 6m beyond the | Approved |
| 26/00785/HHA Brizes, Stondon Massey And South Weald | Raise ridge to create first floor accommodation with two storey front extension, | Refused |
| 26/00779/HHA Brentwood North | Proposed outbuilding/hobby room to the rear of the garden. | Approved |
| 26/00737/HHA Shenfield | Demolition of existing detached garage. Construct part two-storey and single-sto | Approved |
| 26/00720/HHA Blackmore And Doddinghurst | Installation of 8 roof-mounted PV solar panels | Approved |
| 26/00075/HHA Blackmore And Doddinghurst | Proposed first floor extension, and single storey side and rear extension, with | Approved |
| 26/00848/HHA Hutton North | Demolition of existing garage and construct two-storey side extension incorporat | Approved |
| 25/01392/FUL Herongate, Ingrave And West Horndon | Proposed change of use from a church (Class F1 (f)) and its associated curtilage | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Brentwood's 7,771 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Brentwood's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Brentwood's planning statistics, by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Brentwood. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 7,771 real decisions from Brentwood council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Brentwood's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 7,771 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Brentwood is 79.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 7,771 planning decisions from Brentwood council. 6,167 were approved and 1,604 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, January 2018 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Brentwood is 79.4%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.
Writing about planning in Brentwood? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.