Thurrock planning approval rate
Thurrock council approved 81.0% of planning applications and refused 19.0%, based on 11,147 decisions analysed. Ranked 20th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
81.0%
overall approval rate
11,147
Decisions analysed
9,026
Approved
2,121
Refused
47
Wards covered
Planning in Thurrock? 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 Thurrock. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
77.4%
71.6%
94.7%
89.2%
95.3%
88.3%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Thurrock, mined from 11,147 proposal descriptions.
78.8%
81.8%
76.8%
77.0%
78.0%
78.4%
80.2%
74.8%
77.0%
74.0%
85.9%
85.2%
76.6%
71.6%
66.7%
76.5%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Thurrock. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Orsett
76.0%
West Thurrock And South Stifford
88.1%
Corringham And Fobbing
77.8%
Aveley And Uplands
81.2%
Grays Thurrock
76.8%
Grays Riverside
82.4%
Little Thurrock Blackshots
84.8%
Stanford Le Hope West
77.2%
Ockendon
78.4%
Stifford Clays
85.1%
Little Thurrock Rectory
77.9%
Chadwell St Mary
75.1%
Chafford And North Stifford
79.9%
Belhus
81.9%
South Chafford
79.0%
East Tilbury
74.1%
Tilbury Riverside And Thurrock Park
85.4%
Tilbury St Chads
76.9%
The Homesteads
84.1%
Stanford East And Corringham
76.6%
Wards in Thurrock
Orsett
76.0% approval · 1,053 decisions
West Thurrock And South Stifford
88.1% approval · 946 decisions
Corringham And Fobbing
77.8% approval · 711 decisions
Aveley And Uplands
81.2% approval · 655 decisions
Grays Thurrock
76.8% approval · 621 decisions
Grays Riverside
82.4% approval · 608 decisions
Little Thurrock Blackshots
84.8% approval · 560 decisions
Stanford Le Hope West
77.2% approval · 552 decisions
Ockendon
78.4% approval · 546 decisions
Stifford Clays
85.1% approval · 530 decisions
Little Thurrock Rectory
77.9% approval · 515 decisions
Chadwell St Mary
75.1% approval · 490 decisions
Chafford And North Stifford
79.9% approval · 442 decisions
Belhus
81.9% approval · 437 decisions
South Chafford
79.0% approval · 386 decisions
East Tilbury
74.1% approval · 363 decisions
Tilbury Riverside And Thurrock Park
85.4% approval · 342 decisions
Tilbury St Chads
76.9% approval · 303 decisions
The Homesteads
84.1% approval · 302 decisions
Stanford East And Corringham
76.6% approval · 274 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Thurrock, showing how the council decides real applications.
Single-storey rear extension (garage) and construction of a new boundary wall · Grays Town · Thu 06 Aug 2026
Demolish existing small porch extension to the rear and replace with a slightly · OLD Orsett · Wed 05 Aug 2026
Single storey rear extension · Chafford Hundred East · Tue 04 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Thurrock, 1 in 5 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 Thurrock
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Thurrock →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Thurrock
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 11,147 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Thurrock
What is the planning approval rate in Thurrock?
Based on 11,147 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Thurrock approved 81.0% of applications and refused 19.0%. The council is ranked 20th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Thurrock?
Thurrock refuses 19.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 5. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 11,147 decided applications since 2020, 2,121 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Thurrock have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Thurrock are in OLD Orsett (98.1%), West Thurrock And South Stifford (88.1%), and Tilbury Riverside And Thurrock Park (85.4%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Thurrock?
The most common planning application types in Thurrock are: Full (6,154 decisions, 77.4% approved), Certificate of Lawfulness (1,534, 84.3%), and Prior Approval (1,070, 71.6%).
How long does a planning application take in Thurrock?
Planning applications in Thurrock take an average of 10.6 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 11,039 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. Thurrock decides approximately 1,858 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Thurrock?
You can search planning applications in Thurrock directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 11,147 historical decisions in Thurrock to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Thurrock calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Thurrock'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.