Maidstone Council approves 81.1% of planning applications, based on 999 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Maidstone sits 3.9 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 75 decided applications, Maidstone Council approved 76.0% of planning applications in 2025. Across 999 decisions on record (March 2023 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Maidstone is 81.1%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Maidstone council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 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 Maidstone.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 738 | 163 | 901 | 81.9% |
| Other | 542 | 56 | 598 | 90.6% |
| Trees | 180 | 9 | 189 | 95.2% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 111 | 48 | 159 | 69.8% |
| Listed Building | 103 | 45 | 148 | 69.6% |
| Prior Approval | 46 | 9 | 55 | 83.6% |
| Advertisement | 26 | 6 | 32 | 81.2% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marden And Yalding | 258 | 82 | 340 | 75.9% |
| High Street | 171 | 48 | 219 | 78.1% |
| Harrietsham, Lenham And North Downs | 139 | 30 | 169 | 82.2% |
| Headcorn And Sutton Valence | 139 | 24 | 163 | 85.3% |
| Boughton Monchelsea And Chart Sutton | 120 | 32 | 152 | 78.9% |
| Staplehurst | 123 | 26 | 149 | 82.6% |
| Loose And Linton | 98 | 13 | 111 | 88.3% |
| Leeds And Langley | 98 | 8 | 106 | 92.5% |
| Boxley Downs | 92 | 12 | 104 | 88.5% |
| Bearsted And Downswood | 76 | 14 | 90 | 84.4% |
| Grove Green And Vinters Park | 66 | 10 | 76 | 86.8% |
| Coxheath And Farleigh | 60 | 7 | 67 | 89.6% |
| Fant And Oakwood | 50 | 10 | 60 | 83.3% |
| Barming Heath And Teston | 52 | 0 | 52 | 100.0% |
| Penenden Heath | 44 | 6 | 50 | 88.0% |
| Shepway | 47 | 2 | 49 | 95.9% |
| Palace Wood | 44 | 3 | 47 | 93.6% |
| Tovil | 24 | 5 | 29 | 82.8% |
| Allington And Bridge | 26 | 2 | 28 | 92.9% |
| Park Wood And Mangravet | 11 | 1 | 12 | 91.7% |
| Ringlestone | 8 | 1 | 9 | 88.9% |
How Maidstone’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 15.3pp since 2023.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Maidstone council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/502974/LAWPRO Marden And Yalding | Lawful Development Certificate for proposed single storey rear extension. | Refused |
| 26/502919/FULL Coxheath And Farleigh | Change of use of existing ground floor retail unit to residential use associated | Approved |
| 26/502694/FULL Grove Green And Vinters Park | Erection of a single storey side link between the clinical and surgical building | Approved |
| 26/502816/LAWPRO Grove Green And Vinters Park | Lawful Development Certificate for proposed single storey side extension. | Approved |
| 26/502572/FULL Shepway | Demolition of existing outbuildings and extension, and erection of single storey | Approved |
| 26/502932/LBC Marden And Yalding | Listed Building Consent for the replacement of 3no. modern windows to the rear k | Approved |
| 26/502935/LBC Marden And Yalding | Listed building Consent to replace missing window to the ground floor rear dinin | Approved |
| 26/502551/FULL Penenden Heath | Change of use of existing dwelling house (C3) into a 5 person HMO and conversion | Refused |
| 26/502178/FULL High Street | Installation of air source heat pump to front of property. | Approved |
| 26/502877/FULL Bearsted And Downswood | Demolition of existing plant room and workshop. Erection of proposed garage, wor | 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 Maidstone's 999 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Maidstone's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Maidstone'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 Maidstone. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 999 real decisions from Maidstone 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 Maidstone'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 999 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Maidstone is 81.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 999 planning decisions from Maidstone council. 810 were approved and 189 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, March 2023 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Maidstone is 81.1%, 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.
Writing about planning in Maidstone? 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.