Chorley planning approval rate
Chorley council approved 93.2% of planning applications and refused 6.8%, based on 4,398 decisions analysed. Ranked 188th out of 292 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
93.2%
overall approval rate
4,398
Decisions analysed
4,100
Approved
298
Refused
30
Wards covered
Planning in Chorley? 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 Chorley. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
95.9%
93.1%
91.1%
95.1%
95.6%
95.2%
91.4%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Chorley, mined from 4,398 proposal descriptions.
93.3%
92.6%
93.7%
93.7%
90.7%
94.7%
87.2%
93.5%
92.4%
100.0%
78.6%
100.0%
94.1%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Chorley. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Chorley North East
93.2%
Croston, Mawdesley And Euxton South
94.3%
Lostock
96.2%
Adlington And Anderton
92.5%
Chorley North West
94.4%
Eccleston And Mawdesley
92.2%
Coppull
91.2%
Eccleston, Heskin And Charnock Richard
89.0%
Clayton-le-Woods And Whittle-le-Woods
92.1%
Chorley South East
91.9%
Chisnall
94.1%
Wheelton And Withnell
95.3%
Chorley South West
93.6%
Euxton North
94.4%
Clayton East, Brindle And Hoghton
95.1%
Euxton South
92.3%
Chorley South East And Heath Charnock
91.2%
Chorley East
92.0%
Brindle And Hoghton
93.6%
Pennine
94.5%
Wards in Chorley
Chorley North East
93.2% approval · 309 decisions
Croston, Mawdesley And Euxton South
94.3% approval · 297 decisions
Lostock
96.2% approval · 286 decisions
Adlington And Anderton
92.5% approval · 265 decisions
Chorley North West
94.4% approval · 250 decisions
Eccleston And Mawdesley
92.2% approval · 243 decisions
Coppull
91.2% approval · 182 decisions
Eccleston, Heskin And Charnock Richard
89.0% approval · 172 decisions
Clayton-le-Woods And Whittle-le-Woods
92.1% approval · 164 decisions
Chorley South East
91.9% approval · 161 decisions
Chisnall
94.1% approval · 152 decisions
Wheelton And Withnell
95.3% approval · 149 decisions
Chorley South West
93.6% approval · 140 decisions
Euxton North
94.4% approval · 124 decisions
Clayton East, Brindle And Hoghton
95.1% approval · 122 decisions
Euxton South
92.3% approval · 117 decisions
Chorley South East And Heath Charnock
91.2% approval · 113 decisions
Chorley East
92.0% approval · 112 decisions
Brindle And Hoghton
93.6% approval · 110 decisions
Pennine
94.5% approval · 110 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Chorley, showing how the council decides real applications.
Porch to the front elevation · Adlington And Anderton · Fri 21 Aug 2026
Erection of a covered roof structure to an existing agricultural manure store en · Chorley North East · Fri 21 Aug 2026
Single storey side extension and rear dormer extension including material change · Adlington And Anderton · Fri 21 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Chorley, 1 in 15 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 Chorley
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Chorley →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Chorley
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 4,398 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Chorley
What is the planning approval rate in Chorley?
Based on 4,398 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Chorley approved 93.2% of applications and refused 6.8%. The council is ranked 188th out of 292 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Chorley?
Chorley refuses 6.8% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 15. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 4,398 decided applications since 2020, 298 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Chorley have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Chorley are in - (100.0%), Astley And Buckshaw (96.3%), and Lostock (96.2%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Chorley?
The most common planning application types in Chorley are: Full (1,810 decisions, 95.9% approved), Other (1,338, 93.1%), and Trees (527, 91.1%).
How long does a planning application take in Chorley?
Planning applications in Chorley take an average of 11.6 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 884 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. Chorley decides approximately 733 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Chorley?
You can search planning applications in Chorley directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 4,398 historical decisions in Chorley to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Chorley calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Chorley'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.