Lewes & Eastbourne Council approves 91.5% of planning applications, based on 1,948 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Lewes & Eastbourne sits 3.5 percentage points above 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 Lewes & Eastbourne.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 533 | 35 | 568 | 93.8% |
| Other | 442 | 75 | 517 | 85.5% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 403 | 7 | 410 | 98.3% |
| Trees | 214 | 22 | 236 | 90.7% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 90 | 20 | 110 | 81.8% |
| Listed Building | 64 | 2 | 66 | 97.0% |
| Prior Approval | 21 | 4 | 25 | 84.0% |
| Advertisement | 15 | 1 | 16 | 93.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chailey, Barcombe & Hamsey | 300 | 27 | 327 | 91.7% |
| Ouse Valley & Ringmer | 258 | 21 | 279 | 92.5% |
| Newick | 141 | 16 | 157 | 89.8% |
| East Saltdean & Telscombe Cliffs | 123 | 17 | 140 | 87.9% |
| Newhaven South | 103 | 12 | 115 | 89.6% |
| Wivelsfield | 94 | 16 | 110 | 85.5% |
| Seaford South | 107 | 2 | 109 | 98.2% |
| Seaford Central | 90 | 3 | 93 | 96.8% |
| Plumpton Streat E.Chiltington St John W | 79 | 8 | 87 | 90.8% |
| Seaford East | 79 | 7 | 86 | 91.9% |
| Seaford North | 71 | 2 | 73 | 97.3% |
| Peacehaven West | 65 | 5 | 70 | 92.9% |
| Newhaven North | 62 | 6 | 68 | 91.2% |
| Peacehaven North | 59 | 8 | 67 | 88.1% |
| Peacehaven East | 48 | 6 | 54 | 88.9% |
| Seaford West | 47 | 2 | 49 | 95.9% |
| Ditchling & Westmeston | 19 | 3 | 22 | 86.4% |
| Kingston | 12 | 1 | 13 | 92.3% |
How Lewes & Eastbourne’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 3.3pp since 2023.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Lewes & Eastbourne council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| LW/26/0055 Ouse Valley & Ringmer | Erection of agricultural barn for storing hay, straw and machinery | Approved |
| LW/26/0056 Ouse Valley & Ringmer | Engineering and groundworks associated with the erection of a hay, straw and mac | Approved |
| LW/25/0559 Chailey, Barcombe & Hamsey | Proposed lawful development certificate for alterations to fenestration | Approved |
| LW/25/0678 Ouse Valley & Ringmer | Demolition of existing workshop, single storey barn extension and erection of ne | Approved |
| LW/26/0002 Newhaven North | Addition of 1no. side dormer, installation of cladding to front elevation at fir | Approved |
| LW/26/0012 Newick | Relocation of a proposed free standing glasshouse sited on a dwarf brick wall (r | Approved |
| LW/26/0013 Newick | Relocation of a proposed free standing glasshouse sited on a dwarf brick wall (r | Approved |
| LW/26/0004 Peacehaven East | Hip to gable roof extension, addition of 1no. rear dormer, replacement of existi | Approved |
| LW/26/0001 Peacehaven North | Single storey side extension and single storey rear/side extension to convert ga | Approved |
| LW/25/0743 Ouse Valley & Ringmer | Ground floor rear infill extension, and first floor rear extension with alterati | 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 Lewes & Eastbourne's 1,948 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Lewes & Eastbourne's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Lewes & Eastbourne'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 Lewes & Eastbourne. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 1,948 real decisions from Lewes & Eastbourne 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 Lewes & Eastbourne'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 1,948 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Lewes & Eastbourne is 91.5%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 1,948 planning decisions from Lewes & Eastbourne council. 1,782 were approved and 166 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Lewes & Eastbourne is 91.5%, 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.