County Durham Council approves 94.0% of planning applications, based on 9,303 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. County Durham sits 9.0 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,384 decided applications, County Durham Council approved 92.8% of planning applications in 2025. Across 9,303 decisions on record (January 2020 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in County Durham is 94.0%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of County Durham council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report, based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in County Durham.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 7,517 | 450 | 7,967 | 94.4% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 2,438 | 27 | 2,465 | 98.9% |
| Trees | 2,007 | 168 | 2,175 | 92.3% |
| Other | 1,033 | 44 | 1,077 | 95.9% |
| Listed Building | 705 | 13 | 718 | 98.2% |
| Prior Approval | 566 | 46 | 612 | 92.5% |
| Advertisement | 538 | 18 | 556 | 96.8% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 196 | 41 | 237 | 82.7% |
| Change of Use | 39 | 9 | 48 | 81.2% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on, your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elvet And Gilesgate | 767 | 55 | 822 | 93.3% |
| Weardale | 756 | 40 | 796 | 95.0% |
| Barnard Castle West | 770 | 21 | 791 | 97.3% |
| Neville's Cross | 688 | 55 | 743 | 92.6% |
| Barnard Castle East | 588 | 20 | 608 | 96.7% |
| Sedgefield | 446 | 19 | 465 | 95.9% |
| Belmont | 441 | 20 | 461 | 95.7% |
| Framwellgate And Newton Hall | 379 | 12 | 391 | 96.9% |
| Evenwood | 360 | 28 | 388 | 92.8% |
| Lanchester | 339 | 25 | 364 | 93.1% |
| Coxhoe | 304 | 16 | 320 | 95.0% |
| Leadgate And Medomsley | 298 | 20 | 318 | 93.7% |
| Willington And Hunwick | 264 | 27 | 291 | 90.7% |
| Crook | 261 | 18 | 279 | 93.5% |
| Deerness | 265 | 13 | 278 | 95.3% |
| Bishop Auckland Town | 272 | 4 | 276 | 98.6% |
| West Auckland | 262 | 9 | 271 | 96.7% |
| Shildon And Dene Valley | 257 | 14 | 271 | 94.8% |
| Esh And Witton Gilbert | 253 | 7 | 260 | 97.3% |
| Elvet, Gilesgate And Shincliffe | 238 | 21 | 259 | 91.9% |
| Tudhoe | 237 | 11 | 248 | 95.6% |
| Benfieldside | 229 | 13 | 242 | 94.6% |
| Spennymoor | 232 | 7 | 239 | 97.1% |
| Brandon | 215 | 13 | 228 | 94.3% |
| Sherburn | 202 | 9 | 211 | 95.7% |
Showing top 25 of 85 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How County Durham’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 2.9pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from County Durham council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| DM/26/02188/HPN Tudhoe | Prior Approval for rear extension | Approved |
| DM/26/02098/FPA Shildon And Dene Valley | Conversion of existing garage to a family room and addition of a WC | Approved |
| DM/26/01994/FPA Consett South | Detached garage/storage building | Approved |
| DM/26/01977/FPA Bowburn And Coxhoe | Construction of new gable wall | Approved |
| DM/26/01860/FPA Aycliffe North And Middridge | Installation of EV charging unit within front yard of property | Approved |
| DM/26/01784/FPA Weardale | Replacement side extension | Approved |
| DM/26/01722/FPA Horden And Dene House | Single storey front extension and garage conversion with pitched roof (retrospec | Approved |
| DM/26/02334/NMA Upper Teesdale | Non material amendment of DM/25/02830/FPA, to add a larger window to position 1 | Approved |
| DM/26/02208/PND West Auckland | Demolition of Units 9, 10 and 10A | Approved |
| DM/26/02023/AD Stanley | Replacement signage, paint external walls and roller shutters | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on County Durham's 9,303 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare County Durham's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into County Durham's planning statistics, by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for County Durham. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 9,303 real decisions from County Durham council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on County Durham's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 9,303 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in County Durham is 94.0%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 9,303 planning decisions from County Durham council. 8,741 were approved and 562 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, January 2020 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in County Durham is 94.0%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.
Writing about planning in County Durham? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.