Uttlesford planning approval rate
Uttlesford council approved 74.3% of planning applications and refused 25.7%, based on 1,203 decisions analysed. Ranked 3rd out of 292 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
74.3%
overall approval rate
1,203
Decisions analysed
894
Approved
309
Refused
22
Wards covered
Planning in Uttlesford? 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 Uttlesford. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
75.3%
95.9%
72.8%
78.3%
42.9%
84.6%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Uttlesford, mined from 1,203 proposal descriptions.
77.9%
75.9%
66.4%
74.0%
81.8%
76.1%
84.2%
80.6%
63.6%
96.0%
100.0%
61.5%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Uttlesford. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Felsted And Stebbing
69.5%
Takeley
65.8%
Thaxted And The Eastons
70.7%
High Easter And The Rodings
67.6%
Great Dunmow South And Barnston
72.6%
Littlebury, Chesterford And Wendens Loft
78.9%
Broad Oak And The Hallingburys
79.7%
Saffron Walden Shire
76.5%
Clavering
72.7%
Elsenham & Henham
70.5%
Saffron Walden Audley
91.4%
Stansted North
69.8%
Stort Valley
68.6%
The Sampfords
82.6%
Great Dunmow North
80.5%
Newport
82.5%
Debden And Wimbish
74.4%
Stansted South And Birchanger
60.5%
Hatfield Heath
75.7%
Ashdon
82.8%
Wards in Uttlesford
Felsted And Stebbing
69.5% approval · 95 decisions
Takeley
65.8% approval · 76 decisions
Thaxted And The Eastons
70.7% approval · 75 decisions
High Easter And The Rodings
67.6% approval · 74 decisions
Great Dunmow South And Barnston
72.6% approval · 73 decisions
Littlebury, Chesterford And Wendens Loft
78.9% approval · 71 decisions
Broad Oak And The Hallingburys
79.7% approval · 69 decisions
Saffron Walden Shire
76.5% approval · 68 decisions
Clavering
72.7% approval · 66 decisions
Elsenham & Henham
70.5% approval · 61 decisions
Saffron Walden Audley
91.4% approval · 58 decisions
Stansted North
69.8% approval · 53 decisions
Stort Valley
68.6% approval · 51 decisions
The Sampfords
82.6% approval · 46 decisions
Great Dunmow North
80.5% approval · 41 decisions
Newport
82.5% approval · 40 decisions
Debden And Wimbish
74.4% approval · 39 decisions
Stansted South And Birchanger
60.5% approval · 38 decisions
Hatfield Heath
75.7% approval · 37 decisions
Ashdon
82.8% approval · 29 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Uttlesford, showing how the council decides real applications.
Retrospective application to regularise alterations to existing garage/outbuildi · Debden And Wimbish · Fri 21 Aug 2026
Install 10 solar panels to the west facing sloped roof · Elsenham & Henham · Fri 21 Aug 2026
Creation of driveway and car parking area to front elevation (partially implemen · High Easter And The Rodings · Fri 21 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Uttlesford, 1 in 4 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 Uttlesford
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Uttlesford →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Uttlesford
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 1,203 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Uttlesford
What is the planning approval rate in Uttlesford?
Based on 1,203 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Uttlesford approved 74.3% of applications and refused 25.7%. The council is ranked 3rd out of 292 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Uttlesford?
Uttlesford refuses 25.7% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 4. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 1,203 decided applications since 2020, 309 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Uttlesford have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Uttlesford are in Saffron Walden Audley (91.4%), Broad Oak And The Hallingburys (79.7%), and Littlebury, Chesterford And Wendens Loft (78.9%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Uttlesford?
The most common planning application types in Uttlesford are: Full (572 decisions, 75.3% approved), Trees (170, 95.9%), and Listed Building (147, 72.8%).
How long does a planning application take in Uttlesford?
Planning applications in Uttlesford take an average of 9.4 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,198 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. Uttlesford decides approximately 200 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Uttlesford?
You can search planning applications in Uttlesford directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 1,203 historical decisions in Uttlesford to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Uttlesford calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Uttlesford'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.