Hastings planning approval rate
Hastings council approved 86.9% of planning applications and refused 13.1%, based on 6,153 decisions analysed. Ranked 68th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
86.9%
overall approval rate
6,153
Decisions analysed
5,346
Approved
807
Refused
31
Wards covered
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.
85.7%
88.5%
97.0%
89.8%
76.2%
90.9%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Hastings, mined from 6,153 proposal descriptions.
81.5%
90.3%
84.2%
87.9%
89.0%
79.5%
85.8%
85.0%
94.4%
86.1%
78.9%
82.7%
77.4%
84.7%
96.4%
93.5%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Hastings. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
CASTLE 2018
85.1%
CENTRAL ST LEONARDS 2018
86.8%
OLD HASTINGS 2018
88.1%
ASHDOWN 2018
89.5%
MAZE HILL 2018
87.1%
CONQUEST 2018
90.3%
ST HELENS 2018
86.8%
GENSING 2018
87.2%
WEST ST LEONARDS 2018
85.2%
SILVERHILL 2018
87.8%
ORE 2018
81.6%
BAIRD 2018
87.0%
BRAYBROOKE 2018
87.1%
WISHING TREE 2018
84.5%
HOLLINGTON 2018
86.8%
TRESSELL 2018
85.9%
OLD HASTINGS Pre May 2018
80.9%
CASTLE Pre May 2018
88.6%
CENTRAL ST LEONARDS Pre May 2018
86.2%
ASHDOWN Pre May 2018
100.0%
Wards in Hastings
CASTLE 2018
85.1% approval · 767 decisions
CENTRAL ST LEONARDS 2018
86.8% approval · 621 decisions
OLD HASTINGS 2018
88.1% approval · 614 decisions
ASHDOWN 2018
89.5% approval · 456 decisions
MAZE HILL 2018
87.1% approval · 395 decisions
CONQUEST 2018
90.3% approval · 372 decisions
ST HELENS 2018
86.8% approval · 340 decisions
GENSING 2018
87.2% approval · 335 decisions
WEST ST LEONARDS 2018
85.2% approval · 325 decisions
SILVERHILL 2018
87.8% approval · 311 decisions
ORE 2018
81.6% approval · 272 decisions
BAIRD 2018
87.0% approval · 270 decisions
BRAYBROOKE 2018
87.1% approval · 263 decisions
WISHING TREE 2018
84.5% approval · 207 decisions
HOLLINGTON 2018
86.8% approval · 152 decisions
TRESSELL 2018
85.9% approval · 142 decisions
OLD HASTINGS Pre May 2018
80.9% approval · 47 decisions
CASTLE Pre May 2018
88.6% approval · 35 decisions
CENTRAL ST LEONARDS Pre May 2018
86.2% approval · 29 decisions
ASHDOWN Pre May 2018
100.0% approval · 21 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Hastings, showing how the council decides real applications.
Install 2x conservation skylights to rear lean-to roof extension. Remove and rep · OLD HASTINGS 2018 · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Install 2x conservation skylights to rear lean-to roof extension. Remove and rep · OLD HASTINGS 2018 · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Single storey front extension, loft extension including raising roof to include · ST HELENS 2018 · Tue 11 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more 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 →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Hastings
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 6,153 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Hastings
What is the planning approval rate in Hastings?
Based on 6,153 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Hastings approved 86.9% of applications and refused 13.1%. The council is ranked 68th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Hastings?
Hastings refuses 13.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 8. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 6,153 decided applications since 2020, 807 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 (90.3%), ASHDOWN 2018 (89.5%), and OLD HASTINGS 2018 (88.1%). 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 (3,408 decisions, 85.7% approved), Discharge of Conditions (960, 88.5%), and Trees (540, 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 6,118 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 1,026 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 6,153 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.