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 October 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 2 October 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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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 | 746 | 164 | 910 | 82.0% |
| Other | 545 | 56 | 601 | 90.7% |
| Trees | 185 | 9 | 194 | 95.4% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 112 | 48 | 160 | 70.0% |
| Listed Building | 103 | 45 | 148 | 69.6% |
| Prior Approval | 46 | 9 | 55 | 83.6% |
| Advertisement | 26 | 7 | 33 | 78.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marden And Yalding | 258 | 83 | 341 | 75.7% |
| High Street | 175 | 49 | 224 | 78.1% |
| Harrietsham, Lenham And North Downs | 140 | 30 | 170 | 82.4% |
| Headcorn And Sutton Valence | 140 | 24 | 164 | 85.4% |
| Boughton Monchelsea And Chart Sutton | 120 | 32 | 152 | 78.9% |
| Staplehurst | 124 | 26 | 150 | 82.7% |
| Loose And Linton | 98 | 13 | 111 | 88.3% |
| Leeds And Langley | 100 | 8 | 108 | 92.6% |
| Boxley Downs | 94 | 12 | 106 | 88.7% |
| 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 | 51 | 10 | 61 | 83.6% |
| Barming Heath And Teston | 53 | 0 | 53 | 100.0% |
| Penenden Heath | 45 | 6 | 51 | 88.2% |
| Shepway | 48 | 2 | 50 | 96.0% |
| Palace Wood | 45 | 3 | 48 | 93.8% |
| Tovil | 24 | 5 | 29 | 82.8% |
| Allington And Bridge | 26 | 2 | 28 | 92.9% |
| Park Wood And Mangravet | 11 | 1 | 12 | 91.7% |
| Ringlestone | 9 | 1 | 10 | 90.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 26/503127/PIP Boxley Downs | Permission in Principle for the erection of one detached dwelling. | Approved |
| 26/503033/FULL High Street | Erection of a single storey rear extension with roof lantern and internal altera | Approved |
| 26/502503/FULL Headcorn And Sutton Valence | Removal of existing chimney stack and associated making good to roof. | Approved |
| 25/504992/FULL Staplehurst | Demolition of 4no. sheds. Erection of 6no. dwellinghouse (Use Class C3), compris | Approved |
| 26/502982/FULL High Street | Replacement of the existing timber-framed shopfront (door and windows) with a re | Refused |
| 26/502723/FULL Leeds And Langley | Erection of a replacement garage. | Approved |
| 26/502714/FULL Boxley Downs | Erection of single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 25/504020/FULL Harrietsham, Lenham And North Downs | Erection of outbuilding in rear garden | Approved |
| 26/502985/LDCEX High Street | Lawful Development Certificate for the existing use of the property as a House i | Approved |
| 26/502974/LAWPRO Marden And Yalding | Lawful Development Certificate for proposed single storey rear extension. | Refused |
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 October 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.