Mid Sussex Council approves 93.9% of planning applications, based on 8,479 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Mid Sussex sits 5.6 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 2,072 decided applications, Mid Sussex Council approved 93.2% of planning applications in 2025. Across 8,479 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Mid Sussex is 93.9%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Mid Sussex council planning portal records · Updated June 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 Mid Sussex.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 3,593 | 280 | 3,873 | 92.8% |
| Trees | 1,586 | 44 | 1,630 | 97.3% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 1,370 | 23 | 1,393 | 98.3% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 490 | 49 | 539 | 90.9% |
| Other | 274 | 63 | 337 | 81.3% |
| Listed Building | 243 | 24 | 267 | 91.0% |
| Prior Approval | 204 | 24 | 228 | 89.5% |
| Change of Use | 113 | 7 | 120 | 94.2% |
| Advertisement | 90 | 2 | 92 | 97.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurstpierpoint | 584 | 44 | 628 | 93.0% |
| Lindfield | 535 | 31 | 566 | 94.5% |
| Hassocks | 460 | 34 | 494 | 93.1% |
| Crawley Down | 359 | 23 | 382 | 94.0% |
| Burgess Hill - Franklands | 330 | 23 | 353 | 93.5% |
| East Grinstead - Town | 304 | 15 | 319 | 95.3% |
| Copthorne And Worth | 290 | 28 | 318 | 91.2% |
| Cuckfield, Bolney And Ansty | 264 | 34 | 298 | 88.6% |
| Lindfield Rural And High Weald | 264 | 19 | 283 | 93.3% |
| Ardingly, Balcombe And Turners Hill | 262 | 20 | 282 | 92.9% |
| Haywards Heath - Franklands | 254 | 17 | 271 | 93.7% |
| East Grinstead - Imberhorne | 251 | 13 | 264 | 95.1% |
| East Grinstead - Ashplats | 198 | 9 | 207 | 95.7% |
| Burgess Hill - St Andrews | 182 | 12 | 194 | 93.8% |
| Burgess Hill - Victoria | 181 | 8 | 189 | 95.8% |
| Haywards Heath - Ashenground | 169 | 12 | 181 | 93.4% |
| Burgess Hill - Dunstall | 166 | 5 | 171 | 97.1% |
| Downland Villages | 156 | 11 | 167 | 93.4% |
| East Grinstead - Herontye | 159 | 6 | 165 | 96.4% |
| East Grinstead - Baldwins | 152 | 5 | 157 | 96.8% |
| Haywards Heath - Lucastes And Bolnore | 124 | 5 | 129 | 96.1% |
| Burgess Hill - Leylands | 119 | 5 | 124 | 96.0% |
| Haywards Heath - Bentswood And Heath | 106 | 4 | 110 | 96.4% |
| Burgess Hill - Meeds And Hammonds | 98 | 3 | 101 | 97.0% |
| Ashurst Wood And East Grinstead South | 64 | 9 | 73 | 87.7% |
Showing top 25 of 27 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Mid Sussex’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 0.9pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Mid Sussex council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| DM/26/1150 Lindfield Rural And High Weald | Internal refurbishment work to ceilings, walls and floors. | Approved |
| DM/26/1061 Downland Villages | Proposed garage, storage and workshop to the rear of the property. | Approved |
| DM/26/1015 East Grinstead - Town | Demolition of conservatory and erection of rear/side extension plus internal mod | Approved |
| DM/26/0866 Lindfield Rural And High Weald | Proposed partial conversion of existing integral garage to habitable accommodati | Approved |
| DM/26/0742 Lindfield Rural And High Weald | A new iron gate proposed within an existing stone wall. | Approved |
| DM/26/1085 Hurstpierpoint | New pitched roof above ground floor projections on principal elevation. Conversi | Approved |
| DM/26/1056 Ardingly, Balcombe And Turners Hill | Demolition of existing side lean to porch, construction of a single storey rear | Approved |
| DM/26/1059 Burgess Hill - Franklands | Proposed first floor extension and extension to the rear and internal alteration | Approved |
| DM/26/1052 Lindfield | New porch, rear box dormer loft conversion, and internal alterations. | Approved |
| DM/26/0959 Haywards Heath - Ashenground | Proposed single storey side extension | 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 Mid Sussex's 8,479 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Mid Sussex's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Mid Sussex'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 Mid Sussex. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 8,479 real decisions from Mid Sussex 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 Mid Sussex'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 8,479 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Mid Sussex is 93.9%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 8,479 planning decisions from Mid Sussex council. 7,963 were approved and 516 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Mid Sussex is 93.9%, 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 Mid Sussex? 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.