Mid Sussex planning approval rate
Mid Sussex council approved 93.9% of planning applications and refused 6.1%, based on 8,785 decisions analysed. Ranked 218th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
93.9%
overall approval rate
8,785
Decisions analysed
8,246
Approved
539
Refused
28
Wards covered
Planning in Mid Sussex? 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 Mid Sussex. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
92.7%
97.4%
98.3%
81.4%
90.5%
89.9%
94.3%
97.9%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Mid Sussex, mined from 8,785 proposal descriptions.
92.1%
95.4%
95.0%
92.0%
91.6%
92.7%
93.0%
97.2%
95.8%
76.3%
93.1%
92.1%
86.5%
93.1%
85.7%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Mid Sussex. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
--
94.1%
Hurstpierpoint
92.9%
Lindfield
94.6%
Hassocks
93.3%
Crawley Down
94.1%
Burgess Hill - Franklands
93.0%
Cuckfield, Bolney And Ansty
88.6%
East Grinstead - Town
94.9%
Copthorne And Worth
91.5%
Lindfield Rural And High Weald
92.5%
Ardingly, Balcombe And Turners Hill
92.5%
Haywards Heath - Franklands
93.9%
East Grinstead - Imberhorne
95.1%
East Grinstead - Ashplats
95.8%
Burgess Hill - St Andrews
93.5%
Burgess Hill - Victoria
95.9%
Haywards Heath - Ashenground
93.7%
Burgess Hill - Dunstall
97.2%
Downland Villages
93.2%
East Grinstead - Herontye
96.5%
Wards in Mid Sussex
--
94.1% approval · 1,954 decisions
Hurstpierpoint
92.9% approval · 650 decisions
Lindfield
94.6% approval · 588 decisions
Hassocks
93.3% approval · 507 decisions
Crawley Down
94.1% approval · 391 decisions
Burgess Hill - Franklands
93.0% approval · 369 decisions
Cuckfield, Bolney And Ansty
88.6% approval · 332 decisions
East Grinstead - Town
94.9% approval · 331 decisions
Copthorne And Worth
91.5% approval · 329 decisions
Lindfield Rural And High Weald
92.5% approval · 306 decisions
Ardingly, Balcombe And Turners Hill
92.5% approval · 306 decisions
Haywards Heath - Franklands
93.9% approval · 277 decisions
East Grinstead - Imberhorne
95.1% approval · 266 decisions
East Grinstead - Ashplats
95.8% approval · 214 decisions
Burgess Hill - St Andrews
93.5% approval · 200 decisions
Burgess Hill - Victoria
95.9% approval · 197 decisions
Haywards Heath - Ashenground
93.7% approval · 191 decisions
Burgess Hill - Dunstall
97.2% approval · 180 decisions
Downland Villages
93.2% approval · 176 decisions
East Grinstead - Herontye
96.5% approval · 173 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Mid Sussex, showing how the council decides real applications.
Proposed single storey rear extension · Lindfield · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Proposed single storey rear infill extension. · Hurstpierpoint · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Demolition of existing bungalow and link attached flat roofed garage and constru · Ardingly, Balcombe And Turners Hill · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Mid Sussex, 1 in 16 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 Mid Sussex
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Mid Sussex →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Mid Sussex
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 8,785 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Mid Sussex
What is the planning approval rate in Mid Sussex?
Based on 8,785 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Mid Sussex approved 93.9% of applications and refused 6.1%. The council is ranked 218th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Mid Sussex?
Mid Sussex refuses 6.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 16. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 8,785 decided applications since 2020, 539 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Mid Sussex have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Mid Sussex are in Burgess Hill - Meeds And Hammonds (97.2%), Burgess Hill - Dunstall (97.2%), and East Grinstead - Baldwins (96.9%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Mid Sussex?
The most common planning application types in Mid Sussex are: Full (3,995 decisions, 92.7% approved), Trees (1,703, 97.4%), and Discharge of Conditions (1,446, 98.3%).
How long does a planning application take in Mid Sussex?
Planning applications in Mid Sussex take an average of 10.4 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 8,733 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. Mid Sussex decides approximately 1,464 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Mid Sussex?
You can search planning applications in Mid Sussex directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 8,785 historical decisions in Mid Sussex to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Mid Sussex calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Mid Sussex'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.