Southend-on-Sea planning approval rate
Southend-on-Sea council approved 89.1% of planning applications and refused 10.9%, based on 1,683 decisions analysed. Ranked 106th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
89.1%
overall approval rate
1,683
Decisions analysed
1,500
Approved
183
Refused
17
Wards covered
Planning in Southend-on-Sea? 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 Southend-on-Sea. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
93.2%
88.4%
94.8%
28.3%
97.5%
100.0%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Southend-on-Sea, mined from 1,683 proposal descriptions.
90.1%
91.6%
90.4%
91.0%
89.8%
66.0%
89.2%
87.1%
94.3%
97.6%
91.9%
100.0%
89.3%
81.2%
100.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Southend-on-Sea. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Milton
88.9%
Leigh
93.3%
Chalkwell
89.2%
West Leigh
93.9%
Thorpe
85.6%
Kursaal
83.8%
Eastwood Park
85.3%
Blenheim Park
85.9%
Belfairs
86.8%
Prittlewell
90.4%
Shoeburyness
94.9%
Victoria
87.2%
St Lukes
95.9%
West Shoebury
91.7%
Southchurch
86.4%
St Laurence
81.0%
Westborough
87.8%
Wards in Southend-on-Sea
Milton
88.9% approval · 216 decisions
Leigh
93.3% approval · 179 decisions
Chalkwell
89.2% approval · 139 decisions
West Leigh
93.9% approval · 132 decisions
Thorpe
85.6% approval · 118 decisions
Kursaal
83.8% approval · 105 decisions
Eastwood Park
85.3% approval · 95 decisions
Blenheim Park
85.9% approval · 92 decisions
Belfairs
86.8% approval · 91 decisions
Prittlewell
90.4% approval · 83 decisions
Shoeburyness
94.9% approval · 79 decisions
Victoria
87.2% approval · 78 decisions
St Lukes
95.9% approval · 73 decisions
West Shoebury
91.7% approval · 60 decisions
Southchurch
86.4% approval · 59 decisions
St Laurence
81.0% approval · 42 decisions
Westborough
87.8% approval · 41 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Southend-on-Sea, showing how the council decides real applications.
Install dormers to front with Juliet balcony and at rear and rooflights to sides · Thorpe · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Install two digital 75 inch LCD display screens, one on each side of the Street · Milton · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Convert existing garage into habitable accommodation alter front elevation · Eastwood Park · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Southend-on-Sea, 1 in 9 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 Southend-on-Sea
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Southend-on-Sea →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Southend-on-Sea
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 1,683 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Southend-on-Sea
What is the planning approval rate in Southend-on-Sea?
Based on 1,683 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Southend-on-Sea approved 89.1% of applications and refused 10.9%. The council is ranked 106th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Southend-on-Sea?
Southend-on-Sea refuses 10.9% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 9. That is close to the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 1,683 decided applications since 2020, 183 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Southend-on-Sea have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Southend-on-Sea are in St Lukes (95.9%), Shoeburyness (94.9%), and West Leigh (93.9%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Southend-on-Sea?
The most common planning application types in Southend-on-Sea are: Full (874 decisions, 93.2% approved), Other (362, 88.4%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (227, 81.5%).
How long does a planning application take in Southend-on-Sea?
Planning applications in Southend-on-Sea take an average of 10.2 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,681 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. Southend-on-Sea decides approximately 280 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Southend-on-Sea?
You can search planning applications in Southend-on-Sea directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 1,683 historical decisions in Southend-on-Sea to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Southend-on-Sea calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Southend-on-Sea'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.