County Durham planning approval rate
County Durham council approved 94.9% of planning applications and refused 5.1%, based on 15,557 decisions analysed. Ranked 245th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
94.9%
overall approval rate
15,557
Decisions analysed
14,756
Approved
801
Refused
113
Wards covered
Planning in County Durham? 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 County Durham. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
94.3%
98.9%
92.3%
95.8%
98.2%
92.3%
97.2%
81.2%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in County Durham, mined from 15,557 proposal descriptions.
95.6%
97.7%
95.5%
97.1%
89.4%
95.7%
95.8%
97.0%
98.9%
74.3%
94.6%
98.7%
95.3%
94.6%
78.3%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within County Durham. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Elvet And Gilesgate (Historic)
93.3%
Barnard Castle West (Historic)
97.3%
Weardale (Historic)
95.7%
Barnard Castle East (Historic)
96.7%
Neville's Cross (Historic)
92.2%
Sedgefield (Historic)
97.3%
Lanchester (Historic)
93.1%
Belmont (Historic)
96.7%
Evenwood (Historic)
93.7%
Coxhoe (Historic)
95.0%
Leadgate And Medomsley (Historic)
93.7%
Framwellgate And Newton Hall (Historic)
97.3%
Bishop Auckland Town (Historic)
98.6%
Esh And Witton Gilbert (Historic)
97.3%
Willington And Hunwick (Historic)
91.2%
Elvet, Gilesgate And Shincliffe
93.2%
Deerness (Historic)
95.8%
Sherburn (Historic)
95.7%
Shildon And Dene Valley (Historic)
95.7%
Blackhalls (Historic)
91.3%
Wards in County Durham
Elvet And Gilesgate (Historic)
93.3% approval · 821 decisions
Barnard Castle West (Historic)
97.3% approval · 791 decisions
Weardale (Historic)
95.7% approval · 651 decisions
Barnard Castle East (Historic)
96.7% approval · 607 decisions
Neville's Cross (Historic)
92.2% approval · 606 decisions
Sedgefield (Historic)
97.3% approval · 369 decisions
Lanchester (Historic)
93.1% approval · 364 decisions
Belmont (Historic)
96.7% approval · 362 decisions
Evenwood (Historic)
93.7% approval · 333 decisions
Coxhoe (Historic)
95.0% approval · 320 decisions
Leadgate And Medomsley (Historic)
93.7% approval · 318 decisions
Framwellgate And Newton Hall (Historic)
97.3% approval · 301 decisions
Bishop Auckland Town (Historic)
98.6% approval · 276 decisions
Esh And Witton Gilbert (Historic)
97.3% approval · 260 decisions
Willington And Hunwick (Historic)
91.2% approval · 240 decisions
Elvet, Gilesgate And Shincliffe
93.2% approval · 235 decisions
Deerness (Historic)
95.8% approval · 215 decisions
Sherburn (Historic)
95.7% approval · 211 decisions
Shildon And Dene Valley (Historic)
95.7% approval · 208 decisions
Blackhalls (Historic)
91.3% approval · 206 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in County Durham, showing how the council decides real applications.
Erection of porch and front extension with installation of pitch roof, single st · Framwellgate And Newton Hall · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Alterations to shop front and change of use of property from tanning salon to pe · Chilton · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Conversion of small community hall and existing adjoining bungalow into 1 no. 3- · Elvet, Gilesgate And Shincliffe · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In County Durham, 1 in 20 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 County Durham
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for County Durham →
✓ Common refusal reasons in County Durham
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 15,557 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in County Durham
What is the planning approval rate in County Durham?
Based on 15,557 planning decisions analysed since 2020, County Durham approved 94.9% of applications and refused 5.1%. The council is ranked 245th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in County Durham?
County Durham refuses 5.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 20. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 15,557 decided applications since 2020, 801 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of County Durham have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in County Durham are in Horden (Historic) (100.0%), Deneside (Historic) (100.0%), and Ferryhill (100.0%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in County Durham?
The most common planning application types in County Durham are: Full (7,850 decisions, 94.3% approved), Discharge of Conditions (2,418, 98.9%), and Trees (2,128, 92.3%).
How long does a planning application take in County Durham?
Planning applications in County Durham take an average of 11.6 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 15,438 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. County Durham decides approximately 2,593 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in County Durham?
You can search planning applications in County Durham directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 15,557 historical decisions in County Durham to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for County Durham calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes County Durham'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.