Which ward in Mid Sussex has the highest planning approval rate?

Handcross And Pease Pottage at 97.6% based on 42 decisions.

Which ward in Mid Sussex has the lowest planning approval rate?

Ashurst Wood And East Grinstead South at 87.7% based on 73 decisions.

How much do planning approval rates vary across Mid Sussex?

There is a 9.9% gap between Handcross And Pease Pottage and Ashurst Wood And East Grinstead South. Your postcode significantly affects outcomes.

Planning Approval Rates by Ward in Mid Sussex

Planning outcomes in Mid Sussex are highly localised. The gap between the most and least permissive wards is 9.9% — that's not noise, it's a fundamentally different planning environment depending on where you live.

8,479 real decisions·28 wards·Updated June 2026

All 28 wards ranked

#	Ward	Decisions	Approved	Refused	Rate
1	Handcross And Pease Pottage	42	41	1	97.6%
2	Burgess Hill - Dunstall	171	166	5	97.1%
3	Burgess Hill - Meeds And Hammonds	101	98	3	97.0%
4	East Grinstead - Baldwins	157	152	5	96.8%
5	Haywards Heath - Bentswood And Heath	110	106	4	96.4%
6	East Grinstead - Herontye	165	159	6	96.4%
7	Haywards Heath - Lucastes And Bolnore	129	124	5	96.1%
8	Burgess Hill - Leylands	124	119	5	96.0%
9	Burgess Hill - Victoria	189	181	8	95.8%
10	East Grinstead - Ashplats	207	198	9	95.7%
11	East Grinstead - Town	319	304	15	95.3%
12	East Grinstead - Imberhorne	264	251	13	95.1%
13	Lindfield	566	535	31	94.5%
14	--	1,954	1,838	116	94.1%
15	Crawley Down	382	359	23	94.0%
16	Burgess Hill - St Andrews	194	182	12	93.8%
17	Haywards Heath - Franklands	271	254	17	93.7%
18	Burgess Hill - Franklands	353	330	23	93.5%
19	Haywards Heath - Ashenground	181	169	12	93.4%
20	Downland Villages	167	156	11	93.4%
21	Lindfield Rural And High Weald	283	264	19	93.3%
22	Hassocks	494	460	34	93.1%
23	Hurstpierpoint	628	584	44	93.0%
24	Ardingly, Balcombe And Turners Hill	282	262	20	92.9%
25	Haywards Heath - North	51	47	4	92.2%
26	Copthorne And Worth	318	290	28	91.2%
27	Cuckfield, Bolney And Ansty	298	264	34	88.6%
28	Ashurst Wood And East Grinstead South	73	64	9	87.7%

See how this applies to your postcode →

These are council averages. Your property is specific.

An extension might sail through in Handcross And Pease Pottage but face serious resistance in Ashurst Wood And East Grinstead South.
Check your postcode to see what actually happens near your address.

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What the data tells us

A 9.9% gap separates the best and worst wards. Handcross And Pease Pottage approves 97.6% of applications while Ashurst Wood And East Grinstead South approves just 87.7%. That's a fundamentally different planning environment.

High volume doesn't mean high approval. Some of the busiest wards aren't the most permissive. The number of applications a ward processes tells you nothing about how likely yours is to succeed.

Ward averages are a starting point, not a guarantee. Your specific outcome depends on your property, your neighbours, your proposal type and the comparable decisions near your address.

Before you spend £5,000+ on architects and drawings

516 planning applications in Mid Sussex have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A free, property-specific report shows you what gets approved — and what gets refused — near your property.

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More Mid Sussex planning data

Nearby councils ward breakdowns

Methodology: Covers 8,479 planning decisions in Mid Sussex, January 2020 to present. Approval rate = approved / (approved + refused). Pending, withdrawn and invalid excluded. Ward boundaries reflect current electoral divisions. Data from Mid Sussex Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →