Mansfield refuses just 1 in 24 applications. Among the easiest councils in England to win permission from.
Mansfield District Council received 624 planning applications in 2025 and approved 95.8% of the 1,098 decided across 2024-2025, against a national average of 87.6%. Only 4.2% were refused, about 1 in 24, compared with roughly 1 in 8 across the country. The town also stands out for its high share of HMO conversions, at 2.5 times the national rate, and conservation-area works, at 2.4 times the national rate.
The year in one line
Mansfield is one of the most permissive planning authorities in the data, refusing just 4.2% of applications against a 12.4% national rate, with HMO conversions filed at 2.5 times the national share and conservation-area works at 2.4 times.
What Mansfield Is Building
Extensions lead; HMO conversions and conservation work run well above the national share.
Home extensions were the most common project, at 26.7% of applications submitted to Mansfield District Council, compared with 29.1% nationally. Three categories stand out clearly above the national rate: HMO conversions at 2.5 times the national share, conservation-area works at 2.4 times, and change of use to residential at 2.0 times. Dormers, by contrast, were filed at less than half the national rate.
Applications submitted to Mansfield District Council in 2025 (counts from the 2024-2025 pooled window), by project type.
HMOs and heritage as the local signature
Mansfield's share of HMO conversion applications is 2.5 times the national figure, and conservation-area works run at 2.4 times the national share, reflecting the town's older housing stock and listed town centre.
The council verdict
One of the most permissive councils in the data.
Of the 1,098 applications decided across 2024-2025, the council approved 1,052 and refused just 46. That is a 95.8% approval rate against a 12.4% national refusal rate. About 1 in 24 applications was turned down, compared with roughly 1 in 8 nationally.
About 1 in 24 Mansfield applications was turned down.
of applications refused, against a 12.4% national refusal rate. Mansfield's 95.8% approval rate is well above the national norm of 87.6%.
Mansfield vs The National Norm
A very easy yes, with HMOs and heritage standing out.
Set Mansfield's data against the national average and two gaps emerge. The first is in the decision: Mansfield refuses 4.2% of applications against 12.4% nationally, making it one of the most permissive authorities in the country. The second is in the mix: HMO conversions are filed at 2.5 times the national rate, conservation-area works at 2.4 times, and change of use to residential at 2.0 times. Dormers sit at less than half the national share.
Mansfield refuses just 4.2% of applications, against a 12.4% national rate. Permission is markedly easier to win here than across the country as a whole.
Each bar is Mansfield's share of applications submitted to the council; the marker is the national share. HMO conversions and conservation works are the town's biggest divergences above the norm.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
Permission may be easier to win here, and the market has moved with it: Mansfield homes changed hands at sharply higher prices than the year before.
Mansfield is one of the most permissive planning authorities in our dataset, refusing just 1 in 24 applications where the national figure is closer to 1 in 8. The project mix also tells its own story: HMO conversions are being filed at 2.5 times the national rate and conservation-area works at 2.4 times, reflecting a town with real demand for shared housing and an active heritage area. For anyone planning work here, the odds of getting permission are very much in their favour.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Mansfield District Council in 2025, with rates and shares computed over the pooled 2024-2025 window for stability. Categories are classified from each application's published description.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Mansfield post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications decided in Mansfield in the latest full year, led by the home extensions that dominate the town's mix, alongside an HMO conversion, a conservation-area application and a retrospective filing. Open any one to see its full record.
30 Lichfield Avenue NG18 4SY
A single-storey rear extension, the most common project type in Mansfield, was granted with conditions.
See this property's full record68 Jenny Becketts Lane NG18 4HS
A two-storey rear extension with a single-storey front entrance and a mono-pitched roof was approved with conditions.
See this property's full record46 Meadow Road, Blidworth NG21 0PS
Permission was granted to rebuild a flat-roof garden room and put up a new detached flat-roof office building.
See this property's full record1 Green Lane NG18 4BJ
A retrospective change of use turning a garage into a barbershop, work done before consent was sought, was permitted with conditions.
See this property's full record3 Hewett Street, Warsop Vale NG20 8XN
A garage was converted to a shower room and bedroom alongside rear extensions, granted with conditions.
See this property's full record14 St James Gardens, Mansfield Woodhouse NG19 9FE
A lawful development certificate was issued for a single-storey rear extension, confirming the work needed no full permission.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Mansfield?
UK Property Looker turns the UK's public property data into clear, free insight: sale history, energy ratings, planning activity and more for every address in England and Wales.