Hillingdon Council approves 77.9% of planning applications, based on 21,800 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Hillingdon sits 7.1 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 3,053 decided applications, Hillingdon Council approved 86.8% of planning applications in 2025. The typical time from validation to decision in Hillingdon is 8.0 weeks, the median across 24,087 applications decided since January 2020. Across 21,800 decisions on record (January 1987 to October 2026), the overall approval rate in Hillingdon is 77.9%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Hillingdon council planning portal records · Data to 2 October 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 | 14,727 | 3,311 | 18,038 | 81.6% |
| Full | 8,504 | 2,643 | 11,147 | 76.3% |
| Prior Approval | 1,669 | 255 | 1,924 | 86.7% |
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 | 313 | 1,326 | 76.4% |
| Uxbridge North | 907 | 310 | 1,217 | 74.5% |
| Ickenham | 849 | 283 | 1,132 | 75.0% |
| Ick/Ham & S Hf/D 22 | 904 | 176 | 1,080 | 83.7% |
| Botwell | 840 | 193 | 1,033 | 81.3% |
| Eastcote 2022 | 840 | 133 | 973 | 86.3% |
| Ruislip 2022 | 757 | 155 | 912 | 83.0% |
| Northwood Hills | 688 | 217 | 905 | 76.0% |
| Eastcote & E Ruislip | 660 | 214 | 874 | 75.5% |
| Townfield | 614 | 205 | 819 | 75.0% |
| Pinkwell 2022 | 709 | 109 | 818 | 86.7% |
| Uxbridge 2022 | 682 | 130 | 812 | 84.0% |
| Northwood 2022 | 650 | 150 | 800 | 81.2% |
| Brunel | 625 | 165 | 790 | 79.1% |
| Uxbridge South | 608 | 139 | 747 | 81.4% |
| Wood End 2022 | 606 | 124 | 730 | 83.0% |
| West Ruislip | 541 | 186 | 727 | 74.4% |
| South Ruislip 2022 | 599 | 120 | 719 | 83.3% |
| Manor | 575 | 131 | 706 | 81.4% |
| Hillingdon East 2022 | 572 | 132 | 704 | 81.2% |
| Heathrow Villages | 575 | 126 | 701 | 82.0% |
| Hayes Town 2022 | 583 | 115 | 698 | 83.5% |
| Northwood Hills 2022 | 567 | 130 | 697 | 81.3% |
| Colham & Cowley | 560 | 136 | 696 | 80.5% |
| Cavendish | 562 | 122 | 684 | 82.2% |
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 4.6pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 8348/APP/2026/1313 South Ruislip 2022 | Erection of a single storey rear extension and a first floor rear extension. | Approved |
| 18883/APP/2026/1852 H/Row Villages 2022 | Erection of a single storey rear extension, including alterations to the existin | Approved |
| 35660/APP/2026/1962 Charville 2022 | Erection of a part single, part two storey extension to the rear, erection of ou | Approved |
| 1956/APP/2026/2171 H/Row Villages 2022 | Erection of an outbuilding to the rear garden for use as a gym/store room follow | Approved |
| 62339/APP/2026/2204 Hayes Town 2022 | Erection of rear outbuilding following the demolition of the existing store (App | Approved |
| 79984/APP/2026/727 Colham & Cowley | Erection of single storey rear extension | Approved |
| 79229/APP/2026/1803 Northwood 2022 | Use of two self-contained flats as two small Houses in Multiple Occupation (Use | Approved |
| 80119/APP/2026/1414 Colham & Cowley | Change of use from Class C3 (Dwellinghouse) to Class C4 (HMO) for up to 3 Occupa | Approved |
| 15784/APP/2026/1705 Ruislip Manor 2022 | Installation of a dropped kerb, vehicle crossover and driveway to the front (Des | Refused |
| 68154/APP/2026/1986 Pinkwell 2022 | Change of use from a dwellinghouse (Use Class C3(a) to a residential care home ( | 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 Hillingdon's 21,800 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 21,800 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 21,800 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Hillingdon is 77.9%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 21,800 planning decisions from Hillingdon council. 16,983 were approved and 4,817 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, January 1987 to October 2026.
The average approval rate in Hillingdon is 77.9%, 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.
The typical time from validation to decision in Hillingdon is 8.0 weeks, the median across 24,087 applications decided since January 2020. 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.