Maidstone planning approval rate
Maidstone council approved 82.2% of planning applications and refused 17.8%, based on 1,538 decisions analysed. Ranked 24th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
82.2%
overall approval rate
1,538
Decisions analysed
1,264
Approved
274
Refused
21
Wards covered
Planning in Maidstone? 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 Maidstone. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
80.0%
89.0%
94.1%
69.0%
81.8%
78.3%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Maidstone, mined from 1,538 proposal descriptions.
74.5%
84.6%
89.4%
66.7%
82.5%
83.9%
86.6%
87.0%
73.9%
78.6%
92.5%
94.1%
80.0%
85.7%
92.9%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Maidstone. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Marden And Yalding
73.7%
High Street
79.3%
Boughton Monchelsea And Chart Sutton
78.9%
Staplehurst
80.0%
Harrietsham, Lenham And North Downs
82.4%
Headcorn And Sutton Valence
81.0%
Loose And Linton
84.6%
Leeds And Langley
92.8%
Boxley Downs
83.1%
Bearsted And Downswood
82.8%
Coxheath And Farleigh
90.2%
Grove Green And Vinters Park
82.0%
Fant And Oakwood
82.1%
Barming Heath And Teston
100.0%
Shepway
93.8%
Penenden Heath
93.1%
Palace Wood
100.0%
Allington And Bridge
90.5%
Tovil
90.0%
Wards in Maidstone
Marden And Yalding
73.7% approval · 281 decisions
High Street
79.3% approval · 193 decisions
Boughton Monchelsea And Chart Sutton
78.9% approval · 128 decisions
Staplehurst
80.0% approval · 125 decisions
Harrietsham, Lenham And North Downs
82.4% approval · 119 decisions
Headcorn And Sutton Valence
81.0% approval · 105 decisions
Loose And Linton
84.6% approval · 78 decisions
Leeds And Langley
92.8% approval · 69 decisions
Boxley Downs
83.1% approval · 65 decisions
Bearsted And Downswood
82.8% approval · 58 decisions
Coxheath And Farleigh
90.2% approval · 51 decisions
Grove Green And Vinters Park
82.0% approval · 50 decisions
Fant And Oakwood
82.1% approval · 39 decisions
Barming Heath And Teston
100.0% approval · 34 decisions
Shepway
93.8% approval · 32 decisions
Penenden Heath
93.1% approval · 29 decisions
Palace Wood
100.0% approval · 29 decisions
Allington And Bridge
90.5% approval · 21 decisions
Tovil
90.0% approval · 20 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Maidstone, showing how the council decides real applications.
Demolition of existing conservatory and erection of a two storey rear extension. · Harrietsham, Lenham And North Downs · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Erection of dwelling house and new access · Headcorn And Sutton Valence · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Demolition of existing garage and erection of a two storey side and part two sto · Ringlestone · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Maidstone, 1 in 6 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 Maidstone
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Maidstone →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Maidstone
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 1,538 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Maidstone
What is the planning approval rate in Maidstone?
Based on 1,538 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Maidstone approved 82.2% of applications and refused 17.8%. The council is ranked 24th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Maidstone?
Maidstone refuses 17.8% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 6. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 1,538 decided applications since 2020, 274 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Maidstone have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Maidstone are in Leeds And Langley (92.8%), Coxheath And Farleigh (90.2%), and Loose And Linton (84.6%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Maidstone?
The most common planning application types in Maidstone are: Full (649 decisions, 80.0% approved), Other (464, 89.0%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (126, 69.8%).
How long does a planning application take in Maidstone?
Planning applications in Maidstone take an average of 10.6 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,271 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. Maidstone decides approximately 256 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Maidstone?
You can search planning applications in Maidstone directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 1,538 historical decisions in Maidstone to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Maidstone calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Maidstone'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.