Adur & Worthing planning approval rate
Adur & Worthing council approved 89.4% of planning applications and refused 10.6%, based on 35,366 decisions analysed. Ranked 107th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
89.4%
overall approval rate
35,366
Decisions analysed
31,612
Approved
3,754
Refused
27
Wards covered
Planning in Adur & Worthing? 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 Adur & Worthing. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
89.3%
93.5%
100.0%
94.1%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Adur & Worthing, mined from 35,366 proposal descriptions.
93.1%
84.1%
86.6%
87.4%
89.5%
93.8%
87.3%
93.3%
90.2%
65.7%
89.0%
90.2%
80.0%
85.3%
83.3%
86.2%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Adur & Worthing. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Central
86.5%
Offington
89.8%
Salvington
86.9%
Heene
87.2%
Goring
91.4%
Marine Worthing
89.5%
Gaisford
89.1%
Selden
86.1%
Broadwater
87.2%
St Mary's
91.4%
Tarring
87.4%
Marine Adur
90.1%
St. Nicolas
91.5%
Widewater
89.9%
Castle
89.8%
Manor
93.1%
Buckingham
92.3%
Cokeham
91.8%
Durrington
87.8%
Southwick Green
93.5%
Wards in Adur & Worthing
Central
86.5% approval · 3,589 decisions
Offington
89.8% approval · 2,888 decisions
Salvington
86.9% approval · 2,348 decisions
Heene
87.2% approval · 2,326 decisions
Goring
91.4% approval · 1,993 decisions
Marine Worthing
89.5% approval · 1,878 decisions
Gaisford
89.1% approval · 1,513 decisions
Selden
86.1% approval · 1,494 decisions
Broadwater
87.2% approval · 1,449 decisions
St Mary's
91.4% approval · 1,372 decisions
Tarring
87.4% approval · 1,249 decisions
Marine Adur
90.1% approval · 1,247 decisions
St. Nicolas
91.5% approval · 1,000 decisions
Widewater
89.9% approval · 976 decisions
Castle
89.8% approval · 931 decisions
Manor
93.1% approval · 889 decisions
Buckingham
92.3% approval · 865 decisions
Cokeham
91.8% approval · 758 decisions
Durrington
87.8% approval · 746 decisions
Southwick Green
93.5% approval · 740 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Adur & Worthing, showing how the council decides real applications.
Householder application for permitted development for prior approval for single · Salvington · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Roof enlargement involving raised roof ridge with dormers to North and South and · Salvington · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Single storey rear conservatory · Broadwater · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Adur & Worthing, 1 in 9 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 Adur & Worthing
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Adur & Worthing →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Adur & Worthing
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 35,366 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Adur & Worthing
What is the planning approval rate in Adur & Worthing?
Based on 35,366 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Adur & Worthing approved 89.4% of applications and refused 10.6%. The council is ranked 107th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Adur & Worthing?
Adur & Worthing refuses 10.6% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 9. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 35,366 decided applications since 2020, 3,754 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Adur & Worthing have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Adur & Worthing are in Southlands (93.7%), Churchill (93.6%), and Southwick Green (93.5%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Adur & Worthing?
The most common planning application types in Adur & Worthing are: Other (35,068 decisions, 89.3% approved), Full (153, 93.5%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (56, 96.4%).
How long does a planning application take in Adur & Worthing?
Planning applications in Adur & Worthing take an average of 10.2 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 327 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. Adur & Worthing decides approximately 5,894 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Adur & Worthing?
You can search planning applications in Adur & Worthing directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 35,366 historical decisions in Adur & Worthing to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Adur & Worthing calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Adur & Worthing'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.