Hillingdon planning approval rate
Hillingdon council approved 79.0% of planning applications and refused 21.0%, based on 30,584 decisions analysed. Ranked 12th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
79.0%
overall approval rate
30,584
Decisions analysed
24,174
Approved
6,410
Refused
44
Wards covered
Planning in Hillingdon? 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 Hillingdon. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
80.5%
75.4%
86.2%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Hillingdon, mined from 30,584 proposal descriptions.
77.8%
81.0%
78.5%
71.2%
80.2%
83.5%
83.0%
80.4%
65.6%
76.1%
73.1%
81.9%
74.3%
84.2%
57.5%
41.4%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Hillingdon. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
NORTHWOOD
75.5%
UXBRIDGE NORTH
73.4%
ICKENHAM
74.6%
BOTWELL
80.2%
ICK/HAM & S HF/D 22
82.7%
EASTCOTE 2022
85.3%
NORTHWOOD HILLS
75.5%
EASTCOTE & E RUISLIP
74.3%
RUISLIP 2022
82.3%
TOWNFIELD
73.3%
BRUNEL
78.1%
UXBRIDGE 2022
82.7%
NORTHWOOD 2022
80.5%
PINKWELL 2022
85.4%
UXBRIDGE SOUTH
80.0%
WEST RUISLIP
73.8%
MANOR
81.0%
HEATHROW VILLAGES
81.0%
WOOD END 2022
82.3%
CAVENDISH
81.7%
Wards in Hillingdon
NORTHWOOD
75.5% approval · 1,341 decisions
UXBRIDGE NORTH
73.4% approval · 1,235 decisions
ICKENHAM
74.6% approval · 1,138 decisions
BOTWELL
80.2% approval · 1,048 decisions
ICK/HAM & S HF/D 22
82.7% approval · 1,028 decisions
EASTCOTE 2022
85.3% approval · 925 decisions
NORTHWOOD HILLS
75.5% approval · 911 decisions
EASTCOTE & E RUISLIP
74.3% approval · 888 decisions
RUISLIP 2022
82.3% approval · 870 decisions
TOWNFIELD
73.3% approval · 838 decisions
BRUNEL
78.1% approval · 800 decisions
UXBRIDGE 2022
82.7% approval · 785 decisions
NORTHWOOD 2022
80.5% approval · 771 decisions
PINKWELL 2022
85.4% approval · 762 decisions
UXBRIDGE SOUTH
80.0% approval · 760 decisions
WEST RUISLIP
73.8% approval · 733 decisions
MANOR
81.0% approval · 710 decisions
HEATHROW VILLAGES
81.0% approval · 709 decisions
WOOD END 2022
82.3% approval · 693 decisions
CAVENDISH
81.7% approval · 688 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Hillingdon, showing how the council decides real applications.
43012/APP/2023/2188
Construction of a larger rear dormer to replace existing dormer · NORTHWOOD HILLS 2022 · 27/05/2026
4459/APP/2026/663
Erection of single storey rear extension (Application for a Certificate of Lawfu · SOUTH RUISLIP 2022 · 26/05/2026
43395/APP/2026/355
Erection of a single storey extension to the side and rear, following the demoli · ICK/HAM & S HF/D 22 · 26/05/2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Hillingdon, 1 in 5 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 Hillingdon
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Hillingdon →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Hillingdon
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 30,584 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Hillingdon
What is the planning approval rate in Hillingdon?
Based on 30,584 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Hillingdon approved 79.0% of applications and refused 21.0%. The council is ranked 12th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Hillingdon?
Hillingdon refuses 21.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 5. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 30,584 decided applications since 2020, 6,410 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Hillingdon have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Hillingdon are in RUISLIP MANOR 2022 (86.4%), EASTCOTE AND EAST RUISLIP (86.0%), and YEADING 2022 (85.7%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Hillingdon?
The most common planning application types in Hillingdon are: Other (17,886 decisions, 80.5% approved), Full (10,819, 75.4%), and Prior Approval (1,879, 86.2%).
How long does a planning application take in Hillingdon?
Planning applications in Hillingdon take an average of 10.0 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 26,688 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. Hillingdon decides approximately 5,097 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Hillingdon?
You can search planning applications in Hillingdon directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 30,584 historical decisions in Hillingdon to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Hillingdon calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Hillingdon's 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.