Britain’s most ‘Nimby’ council approves just 59pc of applications

West London is home to the most “Nimby” council in the country, analysis by The Telegraph has revealed. Hillingdon council has rejected a higher share of planning permission applications than any other local authority over a 10-year period, data show.

Between 2012 and 2022, a Hillingdon resident in need of an extension had just a 59pc chance of getting their application approved, according to Telegraph analysis.

Of the 5,188 applications Hillingdon council received over the period, it approved just 3,048.

The borough was closely followed by Maldon, a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex where the likelihood of rejection for small-scale developments was also about one in three.

It comes as Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, has announced a relaxation of planning laws allowing sustainable developments on brownfield sites in major cities to get automatic approval.

Of the top 10 most “Nimby” areas – short for “not in my back yard” – six were in the capital.

The applications in The Telegraph’s analysis were for substantial improvements to a property, such as extensions, groundwork or a subdivision into flats, rather than for major developments. The approval of minor changes can sometimes depend on factors such as the natural beauty of the area.

Last year, Maldon council rejected proposals to build a four- bedroom house on the grounds it would “erode the rural character” of the site.

Planning red tape and so- called “Nimbyism” has been blamed for holding back the development of new housing. In their 2019 manifesto the Tories pledged to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. But in 2022-23, the number of new houses built was just under 235,000.

A spokesman for Hillingdon council said the data did not reflect its current performance, with the borough’s approval rate at 78pc for the year to September 2023. Maldon council said: “We welcome high quality and well- designed development, but will rigorously apply planning policies to ensure new development complies with these policies and have a minimal impact and maximum benefit for the district.”