County Durham vs Exeter — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between County Durham and Exeter? A side-by-side comparison based on 13,674 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

County Durham: 95.0%

7,141 decisions · 6,781 approved · 360 refused · 113 wards

Exeter: 90.6%

6,533 decisions · 5,919 approved · 614 refused · 13 wards

Overall approval rates

County Durham (7,141 decided)

95.0%

Exeter (6,533 decided)

90.6%

By application type

Advertisement — County Durham (242 decided)

96.7%

Advertisement — Exeter (246 decided)

92.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — County Durham (95 decided)

78.9%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Exeter (613 decided)

93.0%

Change of Use — County Durham (13 decided)

92.3%

Discharge of Conditions — County Durham (1,081 decided)

98.6%

Discharge of Conditions — Exeter (244 decided)

88.1%

Full — County Durham (3,691 decided)

94.4%

Full — Exeter (3,037 decided)

88.4%

Listed Building — County Durham (337 decided)

97.9%

Listed Building — Exeter (579 decided)

93.8%

Other — County Durham (490 decided)

95.5%

Other — Exeter (453 decided)

89.6%

Prior Approval — County Durham (239 decided)

92.9%

Prior Approval — Exeter (78 decided)

76.9%

Trees — County Durham (953 decided)

93.4%

Trees — Exeter (1,283 decided)

94.5%

What the numbers mean

There is a 4.4 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Exeter is the stricter of the two, which means similar applications may face higher refusal risk there. However, approval rates vary by ward and application type, so your specific situation may differ from the averages.

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See detailed data

County Durham full data Exeter full data