Harlow planning approval rate
Harlow council approved 97.9% of planning applications and refused 2.1%, based on 2,676 decisions analysed. Ranked 277th out of 292 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
97.9%
overall approval rate
2,676
Decisions analysed
2,619
Approved
57
Refused
24
Wards covered
Planning in Harlow? 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 Harlow. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
99.5%
98.6%
96.3%
98.1%
100.0%
100.0%
50.9%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Harlow, mined from 2,676 proposal descriptions.
99.1%
98.7%
100.0%
100.0%
99.1%
99.0%
99.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
95.5%
100.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Harlow. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Mark Hall North
100.0%
Old Harlow West
100.0%
Town Centre
100.0%
Sumners And Kingsmoor East
100.0%
Newhall
96.1%
Mark Hall South
94.1%
Great Parndon North
98.0%
Netteswell North
98.0%
Potter Street
97.8%
Churchgate
100.0%
Passmores North
97.6%
Gilden Park And Mulberry Green
97.5%
Little Parndon West
96.9%
Great Parndon West
100.0%
Passmores South
100.0%
Netteswell South
96.3%
Church Langley South
100.0%
Little Parndon East
100.0%
Stewards
100.0%
Wards in Harlow
Mark Hall North
100.0% approval · 83 decisions
Old Harlow West
100.0% approval · 66 decisions
Town Centre
100.0% approval · 58 decisions
Sumners And Kingsmoor East
100.0% approval · 53 decisions
Newhall
96.1% approval · 51 decisions
Mark Hall South
94.1% approval · 51 decisions
Great Parndon North
98.0% approval · 50 decisions
Netteswell North
98.0% approval · 49 decisions
Potter Street
97.8% approval · 45 decisions
Churchgate
100.0% approval · 42 decisions
Passmores North
97.6% approval · 41 decisions
Gilden Park And Mulberry Green
97.5% approval · 40 decisions
Little Parndon West
96.9% approval · 32 decisions
Great Parndon West
100.0% approval · 31 decisions
Passmores South
100.0% approval · 28 decisions
Netteswell South
96.3% approval · 27 decisions
Church Langley South
100.0% approval · 25 decisions
Little Parndon East
100.0% approval · 25 decisions
Stewards
100.0% approval · 21 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Harlow, showing how the council decides real applications.
Demolition of garage block 14-17 Northbrooks · Passmores North · Thu 20 Aug 2026
Demolition of garage block 37-41 The Dashes · Netteswell Central · Thu 20 Aug 2026
Demolition of existing garage blocks 8-10 and 11-16 Cooks Spinney · Mark Hall South · Thu 20 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Harlow, 1 in 48 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 Harlow
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Harlow →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Harlow
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 2,676 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Harlow
What is the planning approval rate in Harlow?
Based on 2,676 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Harlow approved 97.9% of applications and refused 2.1%. The council is ranked 277th out of 292 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Harlow?
Harlow refuses 2.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 48. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 2,676 decided applications since 2020, 57 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Harlow have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Harlow are in Old Harlow West (100.0%), Sumners And Kingsmoor East (100.0%), and Town Centre (100.0%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Harlow?
The most common planning application types in Harlow are: Full (1,512 decisions, 99.5% approved), Discharge of Conditions (430, 98.6%), and Trees (268, 96.3%).
How long does a planning application take in Harlow?
Planning applications in Harlow take an average of 10.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 2,641 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. Harlow decides approximately 446 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Harlow?
You can search planning applications in Harlow directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 2,676 historical decisions in Harlow to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Harlow calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Harlow'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.