North Hertfordshire Council approves 93.7% of planning applications, based on 2,124 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. North Hertfordshire sits 5.1 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 867 decided applications, North Hertfordshire Council approved 95.5% of planning applications in 2025. Across 2,124 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in North Hertfordshire is 93.7%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of North Hertfordshire council planning portal records · Updated August 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 North Hertfordshire.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 746 | 67 | 813 | 91.8% |
| Trees | 429 | 4 | 433 | 99.1% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 379 | 10 | 389 | 97.4% |
| Other | 167 | 17 | 184 | 90.8% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 116 | 22 | 138 | 84.1% |
| Listed Building | 118 | 8 | 126 | 93.7% |
| Advertisement | 22 | 1 | 23 | 95.7% |
| Prior Approval | 14 | 4 | 18 | 77.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letchworth South West | 157 | 5 | 162 | 96.9% |
| Ermine | 155 | 4 | 159 | 97.5% |
| Hitchin Priory | 136 | 9 | 145 | 93.8% |
| Hitchin Bearton | 123 | 13 | 136 | 90.4% |
| Graveley, St Ippolyts And Wymondley | 129 | 6 | 135 | 95.6% |
| Arbury | 111 | 6 | 117 | 94.9% |
| Knebworth | 98 | 13 | 111 | 88.3% |
| Letchworth Norton | 109 | 1 | 110 | 99.1% |
| Offa | 88 | 10 | 98 | 89.8% |
| Codicote And Kimpton | 90 | 6 | 96 | 93.8% |
| Baldock West | 89 | 5 | 94 | 94.7% |
| Hitchin Highbury | 81 | 11 | 92 | 88.0% |
| Hitchin Walsworth | 85 | 7 | 92 | 92.4% |
| Weston And Sandon | 85 | 5 | 90 | 94.4% |
| Letchworth South East | 79 | 3 | 82 | 96.3% |
| Hitchwood | 76 | 6 | 82 | 92.7% |
| Royston Heath | 59 | 5 | 64 | 92.2% |
| Cadwell | 49 | 6 | 55 | 89.1% |
| Hitchin Oughton | 43 | 3 | 46 | 93.5% |
| Royston Palace | 37 | 5 | 42 | 88.1% |
| Letchworth Wilbury | 32 | 1 | 33 | 97.0% |
| Royston Meridian | 23 | 1 | 24 | 95.8% |
| Baldock East | 20 | 1 | 21 | 95.2% |
| Great Ashby | 16 | 1 | 17 | 94.1% |
| Letchworth Grange | 12 | 0 | 12 | 100.0% |
How North Hertfordshire’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 3.0pp since 2025.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from North Hertfordshire council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/01520/LDCP Hitchin Bearton | Single storey rear extension and single storey side extension following removal | Approved |
| 26/01615/FPH Graveley, St Ippolyts And Wymondley | First floor side extension over existing single storey side extension. | Approved |
| 26/01603/LDCP Hitchin Priory | Erection of a single storey rear extension following removal of existing rear co | Refused |
| 26/01444/FPH Great Ashby | Insertion of rear box dormer, raised ridge height and front rooflight to facilit | Approved |
| 26/01587/FPH Letchworth Grange | Single storey rear extension. Insertion of rear box dormer and 3 front rooflight | Approved |
| 26/01562/FPH Letchworth South West | Single storey side and rear extension, with louvred rear cantilevered canopy, fo | Approved |
| 26/00649/FP Letchworth Norton | Erection of one detached 4-bed self-build dwelling including parking and landsca | Approved |
| 26/01643/FPH Ermine | Erection of rear orangery and installation of entrance door to side elevation. | Approved |
| 26/01590/FPH Knebworth | Erection of single storey detached outbuilding for recreation use following demo | Approved |
| 26/01573/LBC Hitchin Priory | Proposed Replacement of Timber Cladding to Dormer Cheeks with Code 6 Lead | 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 North Hertfordshire's 2,124 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare North Hertfordshire's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
More council comparisons coming soon.
Dig deeper into North Hertfordshire'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 North Hertfordshire. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 2,124 real decisions from North Hertfordshire 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 North Hertfordshire'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 2,124 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in North Hertfordshire is 93.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 2,124 planning decisions from North Hertfordshire council. 1,991 were approved and 133 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in North Hertfordshire is 93.7%, 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 North Hertfordshire? 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.