York vs County Durham — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between York and County Durham? A side-by-side comparison based on 14,470 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

York: 85.7%

7,329 decisions · 6,279 approved · 1,050 refused · 21 wards

County Durham: 95.0%

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

Overall approval rates

York (7,329 decided)

85.7%

County Durham (7,141 decided)

95.0%

By application type

Advertisement — York (280 decided)

84.3%

Advertisement — County Durham (242 decided)

96.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — York (357 decided)

86.8%

Certificate of Lawfulness — County Durham (95 decided)

78.9%

Change of Use — County Durham (13 decided)

92.3%

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

98.6%

Full — York (2,370 decided)

75.7%

Full — County Durham (3,691 decided)

94.4%

Listed Building — York (634 decided)

90.4%

Listed Building — County Durham (337 decided)

97.9%

Other — York (2,174 decided)

89.8%

Other — County Durham (490 decided)

95.5%

Prior Approval — York (47 decided)

80.9%

Prior Approval — County Durham (239 decided)

92.9%

Trees — York (1,467 decided)

93.7%

Trees — County Durham (953 decided)

93.4%

What the numbers mean

There is a 9.3 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. York 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

York full data County Durham full data