Southend-on-Sea Council approves 79.4% of planning applications, based on 587 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Southend-on-Sea sits 8.6 percentage points below the national average.
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 Southend-on-Sea.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 261 | 59 | 320 | 81.6% |
| Other | 94 | 23 | 117 | 80.3% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 52 | 20 | 72 | 72.2% |
| Trees | 43 | 6 | 49 | 87.8% |
| Prior Approval | 6 | 12 | 18 | 33.3% |
| Advertisement | 7 | 1 | 8 | 87.5% |
| Listed Building | 3 | 0 | 3 | 100.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | 47 | 18 | 65 | 72.3% |
| Leigh | 55 | 6 | 61 | 90.2% |
| Chalkwell | 42 | 11 | 53 | 79.2% |
| Kursaal | 34 | 15 | 49 | 69.4% |
| Thorpe | 33 | 13 | 46 | 71.7% |
| West Leigh | 35 | 4 | 39 | 89.7% |
| Eastwood Park | 22 | 10 | 32 | 68.8% |
| Belfairs | 25 | 6 | 31 | 80.6% |
| Blenheim Park | 21 | 9 | 30 | 70.0% |
| Prittlewell | 24 | 4 | 28 | 85.7% |
| Victoria | 22 | 4 | 26 | 84.6% |
| West Shoebury | 22 | 3 | 25 | 88.0% |
| Southchurch | 20 | 5 | 25 | 80.0% |
| Shoeburyness | 21 | 3 | 24 | 87.5% |
| St Lukes | 17 | 2 | 19 | 89.5% |
| St Laurence | 14 | 4 | 18 | 77.8% |
| Westborough | 12 | 4 | 16 | 75.0% |
How Southend-on-Sea’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 2.6pp since 2025.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Southend-on-Sea council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00008/CLP St Laurence | Hip to gable roof extension with dormer to rear and rooflights to front includin | Approved |
| 25/01800/FULH Shoeburyness | Alterations and replace roof to existing conservatory, extend existing garage, a | Approved |
| 25/01581/FUL Victoria | Part demolish existing church building, erect single storey extensions to front | Approved |
| 26/00081/CLP Kursaal | Use dwelling (Use Class C3) as 6-person HMO (Use Class C4), remove chimney, alte | Approved |
| 26/00049/FULH West Leigh | Erect single storey rear extension and form raised terrace to rear | Approved |
| 25/01768/FULH West Leigh | Demolish existing conservatory, erect single storey side and rear extension, alt | Approved |
| 25/01755/FULH Leigh | Erect single storey side and rear extension and alter elevations | Approved |
| 26/00061/CLP Chalkwell | Erect detached outbuilding to rear | Approved |
| 26/00059/CLP West Shoebury | Install dormer and Juliet balcony to rear to create habitable accommodation in t | Approved |
| 25/01350/FUL St Lukes | Layout hardstanding to front and form vehicle crossover onto Lonsdale road (retr | 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 Southend-on-Sea's 587 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Southend-on-Sea's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Southend-on-Sea'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 Southend-on-Sea. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 587 real decisions from Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea'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 587 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Southend-on-Sea is 79.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 587 planning decisions from Southend-on-Sea council. 466 were approved and 121 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Southend-on-Sea is 79.4%, 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.