Hastings Council approves 84.9% of planning applications, based on 3,709 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Hastings is closely in line with the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 578 decided applications, Hastings Council approved 88.6% of planning applications in 2025. Across 3,709 decisions on record (January 2018 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Hastings is 84.9%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Hastings council planning portal records · Data to 28 September 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report, based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Hastings.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 2,960 | 487 | 3,447 | 85.9% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 859 | 110 | 969 | 88.6% |
| Trees | 524 | 16 | 540 | 97.0% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 345 | 63 | 408 | 84.6% |
| Listed Building | 335 | 38 | 373 | 89.8% |
| Other | 264 | 82 | 346 | 76.3% |
| Advertisement | 122 | 12 | 134 | 91.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle 2018 | 653 | 114 | 767 | 85.1% |
| Central St Leonards 2018 | 539 | 82 | 621 | 86.8% |
| Old Hastings 2018 | 541 | 73 | 614 | 88.1% |
| Ashdown 2018 | 408 | 48 | 456 | 89.5% |
| Maze Hill 2018 | 344 | 51 | 395 | 87.1% |
| Conquest 2018 | 336 | 36 | 372 | 90.3% |
| St Helens 2018 | 295 | 45 | 340 | 86.8% |
| Gensing 2018 | 292 | 43 | 335 | 87.2% |
| West St Leonards 2018 | 277 | 48 | 325 | 85.2% |
| Silverhill 2018 | 273 | 38 | 311 | 87.8% |
| Ore 2018 | 222 | 50 | 272 | 81.6% |
| Baird 2018 | 235 | 35 | 270 | 87.0% |
| Braybrooke 2018 | 229 | 34 | 263 | 87.1% |
| Wishing Tree 2018 | 175 | 32 | 207 | 84.5% |
| Hollington 2018 | 132 | 20 | 152 | 86.8% |
| Tressell 2018 | 122 | 20 | 142 | 85.9% |
| OLD HASTINGS Pre May 2018 | 38 | 9 | 47 | 80.9% |
| CASTLE Pre May 2018 | 31 | 4 | 35 | 88.6% |
| CENTRAL ST LEONARDS Pre May 2018 | 25 | 4 | 29 | 86.2% |
| ASHDOWN Pre May 2018 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 100.0% |
| GENSING Pre May 2018 | 18 | 3 | 21 | 85.7% |
| MAZE HILL Pre May 2018 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 100.0% |
| BRAYBROOKE Pre May 2018 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 88.9% |
| SILVERHILL Pre May 2018 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 88.9% |
| ORE Pre May 2018 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 82.4% |
Showing top 25 of 37 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Hastings’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 7.0pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Hastings council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| HS/FA/26/00459 Conquest | Garage conversion to habitable room | Approved |
| HS/FA/26/00383 Gensing | Installation of perimeter wall security fencing and yard area security fencing a | Approved |
| HS/FA/26/00362 Old Hastings | Construction of a single-storey rear kitchen extension to an existing detached t | Approved |
| HS/FA/26/00426 West St Leonards | Construction of a single-storey side extension, enlargement of the existing fron | Approved |
| HS/FA/26/00404 ORE | First floor balcony to south facing (side) elevation over existing ground floor | Approved |
| HS/AA/26/00388 Castle | Erection of internally illuminated 3m EV pole sign | Approved |
| HS/PD/26/00462 Ashdown | Demolition of existing conservatory and side hallway extension and the construct | Refused |
| HS/FA/26/00306 Gensing | Conversion of existing dwelling house into lower ground floor 3 bed 5 person fla | Approved |
| HS/FA/26/00093 Castle | Demolition of the existing café and toilets and redevelopment to form a single s | Approved |
| HS/FA/26/00142 Maze Hill | Proposed detached Two Storey Dwelling | 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 Hastings's 3,709 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Hastings's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Hastings'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 Hastings. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 3,709 real decisions from Hastings 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 Hastings'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 3,709 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Hastings is 84.9%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 3,709 planning decisions from Hastings council. 3,150 were approved and 559 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, January 2018 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Hastings is 84.9%, 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 Hastings? 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.