Hillingdon Council approves 79.0% of planning applications, based on 30,584 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Hillingdon sits 9.3 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 3,081 decided applications, Hillingdon Council approved 85.9% of planning applications in 2025. The average time from validation to decision in Hillingdon is 10.0 weeks, measured across 26,688 decided applications. Across 30,584 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Hillingdon is 79.0%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Hillingdon council planning portal records · Updated June 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 Hillingdon.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 14,399 | 3,487 | 17,886 | 80.5% |
| Full | 8,155 | 2,664 | 10,819 | 75.4% |
| Prior Approval | 1,620 | 259 | 1,879 | 86.2% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwood | 1,013 | 328 | 1,341 | 75.5% |
| Uxbridge North | 907 | 328 | 1,235 | 73.4% |
| Ickenham | 849 | 289 | 1,138 | 74.6% |
| Botwell | 841 | 207 | 1,048 | 80.2% |
| Ick/Ham & S Hf/D 22 | 850 | 178 | 1,028 | 82.7% |
| Eastcote 2022 | 789 | 136 | 925 | 85.3% |
| Northwood Hills | 688 | 223 | 911 | 75.5% |
| Eastcote & E Ruislip | 660 | 228 | 888 | 74.3% |
| Ruislip 2022 | 716 | 154 | 870 | 82.3% |
| Townfield | 614 | 224 | 838 | 73.3% |
| Brunel | 625 | 175 | 800 | 78.1% |
| Uxbridge 2022 | 649 | 136 | 785 | 82.7% |
| Northwood 2022 | 621 | 150 | 771 | 80.5% |
| Pinkwell 2022 | 651 | 111 | 762 | 85.4% |
| Uxbridge South | 608 | 152 | 760 | 80.0% |
| West Ruislip | 541 | 192 | 733 | 73.8% |
| Manor | 575 | 135 | 710 | 81.0% |
| Heathrow Villages | 574 | 135 | 709 | 81.0% |
| Wood End 2022 | 570 | 123 | 693 | 82.3% |
| Cavendish | 562 | 126 | 688 | 81.7% |
| Pinkwell | 521 | 162 | 683 | 76.3% |
| Yiewsley | 524 | 158 | 682 | 76.8% |
| South Ruislip 2022 | 555 | 121 | 676 | 82.1% |
| Hillingdon East | 508 | 164 | 672 | 75.6% |
| Charville | 527 | 141 | 668 | 78.9% |
Showing top 25 of 44 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Hillingdon’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 5.3pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Hillingdon council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 43012/APP/2023/2188 Northwood Hills 2022 | Construction of a larger rear dormer to replace existing dormer | Approved |
| 4459/APP/2026/663 South Ruislip 2022 | Erection of single storey rear extension (Application for a Certificate of Lawfu | Approved |
| 43395/APP/2026/355 Ick/Ham & S Hf/D 22 | Erection of a single storey extension to the side and rear, following the demoli | Approved |
| 77244/APP/2026/611 Yeading 2022 | Erection of a single storey rear extension | Approved |
| 29405/APP/2026/636 West Drayton 2022 | Erection of a single storey extension to the rear, following the demolition of e | Refused |
| 53688/APP/2026/225 Northwood Hills 2022 | Demolition of the existing rear extension and construction of a new single-store | Refused |
| 76336/APP/2026/307 West Drayton 2022 | Erection of a part single storey, part two storey side and rear extension, and c | Approved |
| 22536/APP/2026/369 Colham & Cowley | Change of use from dwellinghouse (Class C3) to children's care home for four chi | Approved |
| 61985/APP/2026/656 Hayes Town 2022 | Conversion of roofspace to habitable use to include hip to gable extension, rear | Approved |
| 79824/APP/2026/601 Hare/D Villages 2022 | Change of use from C3 dwellinghouse to 8-person Large HMO (Sui Generis). Erectio | Refused |
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 Hillingdon's 30,584 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Hillingdon's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Hillingdon'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 Hillingdon. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 30,584 real decisions from Hillingdon 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 Hillingdon'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 30,584 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Hillingdon is 79.0%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 30,584 planning decisions from Hillingdon council. 24,174 were approved and 6,410 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Hillingdon is 79.0%, 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.
The average time from validation to decision in Hillingdon is 10.0 weeks, measured across 26,688 decided applications. This PlanningLens figure is calculated from decision dates published by Hillingdon council itself, reflecting actual elapsed time rather than statutory targets.
Writing about planning in Hillingdon? 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.