Hastings planning approval rate
Hastings council approved 86.7% of planning applications and refused 13.3%, based on 6,065 decisions analysed. Ranked 64th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
86.7%
overall approval rate
Planning in Hastings?
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 Hastings. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Hastings, mined from 6,065 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Hastings. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
CASTLE 2018 (751 decided)
84.8%
CENTRAL ST LEONARDS 2018 (613 decided)
86.8%
OLD HASTINGS 2018 (604 decided)
87.9%
ASHDOWN 2018 (454 decided)
89.4%
MAZE HILL 2018 (385 decided)
86.8%
CONQUEST 2018 (369 decided)
90.2%
ST HELENS 2018 (338 decided)
86.7%
GENSING 2018 (326 decided)
86.8%
WEST ST LEONARDS 2018 (318 decided)
84.9%
SILVERHILL 2018 (307 decided)
87.9%
ORE 2018 (269 decided)
81.4%
BAIRD 2018 (265 decided)
86.8%
BRAYBROOKE 2018 (262 decided)
87.0%
WISHING TREE 2018 (201 decided)
84.6%
HOLLINGTON 2018 (151 decided)
86.8%
TRESSELL 2018 (142 decided)
85.9%
OLD HASTINGS Pre May 2018 (47 decided)
80.9%
CASTLE Pre May 2018 (35 decided)
88.6%
CENTRAL ST LEONARDS Pre May 2018 (29 decided)
86.2%
ASHDOWN Pre May 2018 (21 decided)
100.0%
Wards in Hastings
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Hastings, showing how the council decides real applications.
Application for a Certificate of Proposed Lawful development for the erection of · BAIRD 2018 · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Approved
Rear single storey side extension, front single storey side extension to existin · MAZE HILL 2018 · Tue 16 Jun 2026
Approved
Alterations to external openings of the existing house to accommodate new French · MAZE HILL 2018 · Mon 15 Jun 2026
Approved
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Hastings, 1 in 8 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 Hastings
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Hastings →
Free. Based on 6,065 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Hastings
What is the planning approval rate in Hastings?
Based on 6,065 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Hastings approved 86.7% of applications and refused 13.3%. The council is ranked 64th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Hastings?
Hastings refuses 13.3% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 8. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 6,065 decided applications since 2020, 804 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Hastings have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Hastings are in CONQUEST 2018 (90.2%), ASHDOWN 2018 (89.4%), and SILVERHILL 2018 (87.9%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Hastings?
The most common planning application types in Hastings are: Full (3,366 decisions, 85.5% approved), Discharge of Conditions (945, 88.4%), and Trees (529, 97.0%).
How long does a planning application take in Hastings?
Planning applications in Hastings take an average of 12.4 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 6,031 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. Hastings decides approximately 1,011 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Hastings?
You can search planning applications in Hastings directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 6,065 historical decisions in Hastings to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Hastings calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Hastings' 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.