Hertsmere Council approves 85.1% of planning applications, based on 3,094 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Hertsmere sits 2.9 percentage points below the national average.
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 Hertsmere.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 704 | 164 | 868 | 81.1% |
| Prior Approval | 490 | 111 | 601 | 81.5% |
| Trees | 521 | 51 | 572 | 91.1% |
| Full | 436 | 77 | 513 | 85.0% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 405 | 52 | 457 | 88.6% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 51 | 2 | 53 | 96.2% |
| Advertisement | 23 | 2 | 25 | 92.0% |
| Listed Building | 4 | 1 | 5 | 80.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldenham West | 278 | 39 | 317 | 87.7% |
| Aldenham East | 220 | 49 | 269 | 81.8% |
| Borehamwood Hillside | 186 | 37 | 223 | 83.4% |
| Potters Bar Parkfield | 182 | 34 | 216 | 84.3% |
| Bushey Heath | 180 | 34 | 214 | 84.1% |
| Shenley | 182 | 30 | 212 | 85.8% |
| Borehamwood Cowley Hill | 190 | 17 | 207 | 91.8% |
| Bushey St James | 170 | 31 | 201 | 84.6% |
| Borehamwood Brookmeadow | 155 | 19 | 174 | 89.1% |
| Bushey Park | 147 | 23 | 170 | 86.5% |
| Potters Bar Furzefield | 141 | 24 | 165 | 85.5% |
| Bushey North | 129 | 26 | 155 | 83.2% |
| Elstree | 129 | 24 | 153 | 84.3% |
| Borehamwood Kenilworth | 106 | 17 | 123 | 86.2% |
| Potters Bar Oakmere | 93 | 25 | 118 | 78.8% |
| Bentley Heath & The Royds | 66 | 19 | 85 | 77.6% |
| Not Applicable - Adj Authorityl | 24 | 2 | 26 | 92.3% |
How Hertsmere’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — down 5.2pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Hertsmere council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/0127/TRC Bushey St James | T10 UNIDENTIFIED TREE. To cut back overhang by 1m to boundary line (See annotate | Approved |
| 26/0094/CLP Borehamwood Brookmeadow | Conversion of garage to habitable space to include replacement of garage door wi | Approved |
| 26/0030/PD42 Bushey St James | Construction of single storey rear extension. Depth: 6.00m, Height: 3.70m, Eaves | Approved |
| 26/0037/PD42 Bentley Heath & The Royds | Single storey rear extension. Depth: 6.00m, Height: 3.00m, Eaves: 2.75m. | Approved |
| 26/0001/HSE Bentley Heath & The Royds | Single storey side extension following demolition of existing garage; alteration | Approved |
| 26/0026/TRC Aldenham West | T1 ALDER. Fell. Tree is labelled as number 4a by the side of the pond in Letchmo | Approved |
| 26/0011/PD42 Potters Bar Furzefield | Single storey rear extension. Depth: 5.8m, Height: 2.95m, Eaves: 2.81m. | Refused |
| 25/1849/CLP Bushey Park | Conversion of loft to habitable space including rear dormer, 2x front roof light | Approved |
| 25/1827/PD42 Potters Bar Oakmere | Single storey rear extension. Depth: 6m, Height: 3.3m, Eaves: 3m. | Approved |
| 25/1797/CLP Borehamwood Brookmeadow | Construction of front porch extension and single storey rear extension with inse | 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 Hertsmere's 3,094 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Hertsmere's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Hertsmere'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 Hertsmere. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 3,094 real decisions from Hertsmere 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 Hertsmere'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 3,094 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Hertsmere is 85.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 3,094 planning decisions from Hertsmere council. 2,634 were approved and 460 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Hertsmere is 85.1%, 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.