Stevenage planning approval rate
Stevenage council approved 94.0% of planning applications and refused 6.0%, based on 3,915 decisions analysed. Ranked 219th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
94.0%
overall approval rate
3,915
Decisions analysed
3,680
Approved
235
Refused
14
Wards covered
Planning in Stevenage? 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 Stevenage. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
94.0%
97.6%
98.4%
90.5%
87.6%
90.3%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Stevenage, mined from 3,915 proposal descriptions.
93.9%
92.1%
95.7%
91.5%
88.0%
98.4%
90.4%
90.9%
96.2%
92.0%
98.9%
90.9%
73.3%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Stevenage. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Old Town
92.9%
Bedwell
96.3%
Roebuck
93.8%
Woodfield
94.3%
Manor
91.5%
Shephall
91.7%
Symonds Green
94.7%
Chells
96.0%
Longmeadow
96.0%
Bandley Hill And Poplars
91.5%
To Follow
94.2%
Martins Wood
93.8%
St Nicholas
95.4%
Almond Hill
100.0%
Wards in Stevenage
Old Town
92.9% approval · 633 decisions
Bedwell
96.3% approval · 454 decisions
Roebuck
93.8% approval · 400 decisions
Woodfield
94.3% approval · 388 decisions
Manor
91.5% approval · 284 decisions
Shephall
91.7% approval · 276 decisions
Symonds Green
94.7% approval · 263 decisions
Chells
96.0% approval · 226 decisions
Longmeadow
96.0% approval · 226 decisions
Bandley Hill And Poplars
91.5% approval · 211 decisions
To Follow
94.2% approval · 191 decisions
Martins Wood
93.8% approval · 176 decisions
St Nicholas
95.4% approval · 153 decisions
Almond Hill
100.0% approval · 30 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Stevenage, showing how the council decides real applications.
First floor rear extension over existing single storey rear extension · Symonds Green · Wed 05 Aug 2026
Change of use of 6no. dwellinghouses Use Class (C3) to 6no. five-bedroom Houses · Old Town · Wed 05 Aug 2026
Change of use from dwellinghouse (use class C3) to residential institution (use · Woodfield · Wed 05 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Stevenage, 1 in 17 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 Stevenage
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Stevenage →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Stevenage
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 3,915 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Stevenage
What is the planning approval rate in Stevenage?
Based on 3,915 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Stevenage approved 94.0% of applications and refused 6.0%. The council is ranked 219th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Stevenage?
Stevenage refuses 6.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 17. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 3,915 decided applications since 2020, 235 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Stevenage have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Stevenage are in Bedwell (96.3%), Chells (96.0%), and Longmeadow (96.0%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Stevenage?
The most common planning application types in Stevenage are: Full (2,648 decisions, 94.0% approved), Certificate of Lawfulness (435, 93.1%), and Advertisement (290, 97.6%).
How long does a planning application take in Stevenage?
Planning applications in Stevenage take an average of 10.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 308 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. Stevenage decides approximately 652 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Stevenage?
You can search planning applications in Stevenage directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 3,915 historical decisions in Stevenage to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Stevenage calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Stevenage'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.