BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) planning approval rate
BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) council approved 91.6% of planning applications and refused 8.4%, based on 498 decisions analysed. Ranked 162nd out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
91.6%
overall approval rate
Planning in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)?
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 BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole). Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole), mined from 498 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole). Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Canford Cliffs (86 decided)
93.0%
Broadstone (47 decided)
95.7%
Talbot & Branksome Woods (31 decided)
93.5%
Penn Hill (24 decided)
87.5%
Highcliffe & Walkford (23 decided)
91.3%
Westbourne & West Cliff (21 decided)
90.5%
Wards in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole), showing how the council decides real applications.
Conversion and extension of existing garage to form ancillary accommodation to t · Christchurch Town · 2026-08-14
Change of use of part of the ground floor of the building to form residential st · Westbourne & West Cliff · 2026-08-14
Demolish existing conservatory and replace with single storey rear extension. Ad · Boscombe West · 2026-08-14
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole), 1 in 12 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 BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) →
Free. Based on 498 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)
What is the planning approval rate in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)?
Based on 498 planning decisions analysed since 2020, BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) approved 91.6% of applications and refused 8.4%. The council is ranked 162nd out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)?
BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) refuses 8.4% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 12. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 498 decided applications since 2020, 42 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) are in Canford Cliffs (93.0%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)?
The most common planning application types in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) are: Other (191 decisions, 94.2% approved), Full (166, 86.1%), and Trees (105, 94.3%).
How long does a planning application take in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)?
Planning applications in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) take an average of 6.0 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 498 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is inside 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. BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) decides approximately 83 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)?
You can search planning applications in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 498 historical decisions in BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)'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.