Brentwood Council approves 84.0% of planning applications, based on 12,129 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Brentwood sits 4.6 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,209 decided applications, Brentwood Council approved 87.8% of planning applications in 2025. Across 12,129 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Brentwood is 84.0%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Brentwood council planning portal records · Updated August 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 | 5,888 | 1,485 | 7,373 | 79.9% |
| Trees | 1,560 | 45 | 1,605 | 97.2% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 1,319 | 51 | 1,370 | 96.3% |
| Other | 676 | 153 | 829 | 81.5% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 287 | 94 | 381 | 75.3% |
| Listed Building | 242 | 57 | 299 | 80.9% |
| Advertisement | 134 | 35 | 169 | 79.3% |
| Change of Use | 63 | 17 | 80 | 78.8% |
| 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 | 1,187 | 217 | 1,404 | 84.5% |
| Shenfield | 1,167 | 163 | 1,330 | 87.7% |
| Warley | 798 | 149 | 947 | 84.3% |
| Hutton South | 825 | 92 | 917 | 90.0% |
| Herongate, Ingrave And West Horndon | 729 | 139 | 868 | 84.0% |
| Brizes And Doddinghurst | 632 | 156 | 788 | 80.2% |
| Brentwood South | 621 | 133 | 754 | 82.4% |
| Brentwood West | 578 | 118 | 696 | 83.0% |
| Pilgrims Hatch | 539 | 153 | 692 | 77.9% |
| Brentwood North | 545 | 115 | 660 | 82.6% |
| Hutton East | 484 | 118 | 602 | 80.4% |
| Tipps Cross | 451 | 94 | 545 | 82.8% |
| Hutton North | 461 | 61 | 522 | 88.3% |
| Hutton Central | 450 | 59 | 509 | 88.4% |
| South Weald | 338 | 95 | 433 | 78.1% |
| Brizes, Stondon Massey And South Weald | 223 | 46 | 269 | 82.9% |
| Blackmore And Doddinghurst | 148 | 33 | 181 | 81.8% |
How Brentwood’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 5.0pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00687/LBC Herongate, Ingrave And West Horndon | Replacement of the three front first floor windows and external cladding due to | Approved |
| 26/00646/HHA Shenfield | Construct single storey front extension, side and rear dormers, alterations to r | Approved |
| 26/00639/HHA Shenfield | Single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 26/00663/FUL Brizes, Stondon Massey And South Weald | Demolition of existing dwelling and detached garage and construction of seven ne | Refused |
| 26/00630/HHA Shenfield | Change of use and conversion of the existing detached cart lodge to a residentia | Approved |
| 26/00600/HHA Ingatestone, Fryerning And Mountnessing | Replace existing rear parapet roof with a vaulted pitched roof | Approved |
| 26/00474/FUL Hutton South | Construction of two storey front extension with facilities in the roof space. | Refused |
| 26/00613/LBC Herongate, Ingrave And West Horndon | Internal alterations to include the removal of stud-partition wall between the k | Approved |
| 26/00482/PN42 Brizes, Stondon Massey And South Weald | Single storey rear extension. The proposed extension would extend 5m beyond the | Approved |
| 26/00404/HHA Ingatestone, Fryerning And Mountnessing | Front single storey infill extension to include widening of porch and alteration | Refused |
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 12,129 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 12,129 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 12,129 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Brentwood is 84.0%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 12,129 planning decisions from Brentwood council. 10,186 were approved and 1,943 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Brentwood is 84.0%, 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.