County Durham Council approves 95.0% of planning applications, based on 14,377 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. County Durham sits 7.1 percentage points above the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 | 6,883 | 408 | 7,291 | 94.4% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 2,198 | 21 | 2,219 | 99.1% |
| Trees | 1,822 | 149 | 1,971 | 92.4% |
| Other | 933 | 41 | 974 | 95.8% |
| Listed Building | 640 | 13 | 653 | 98.0% |
| Prior Approval | 506 | 39 | 545 | 92.8% |
| Advertisement | 472 | 12 | 484 | 97.5% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 164 | 28 | 192 | 85.4% |
| 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.
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 (Historic) | 766 | 54 | 820 | 93.4% |
| Barnard Castle West (Historic) | 769 | 21 | 790 | 97.3% |
| Weardale (Historic) | 622 | 28 | 650 | 95.7% |
| Barnard Castle East (Historic) | 587 | 20 | 607 | 96.7% |
| Neville's Cross (Historic) | 559 | 47 | 606 | 92.2% |
| Sedgefield (Historic) | 359 | 10 | 369 | 97.3% |
| Lanchester (Historic) | 339 | 25 | 364 | 93.1% |
| Belmont (Historic) | 350 | 12 | 362 | 96.7% |
| Evenwood (Historic) | 311 | 21 | 332 | 93.7% |
| Coxhoe (Historic) | 303 | 16 | 319 | 95.0% |
| Leadgate And Medomsley (Historic) | 298 | 20 | 318 | 93.7% |
| Framwellgate And Newton Hall (Historic) | 293 | 8 | 301 | 97.3% |
| Bishop Auckland Town (Historic) | 272 | 4 | 276 | 98.6% |
| Esh And Witton Gilbert (Historic) | 253 | 7 | 260 | 97.3% |
| Willington And Hunwick (Historic) | 219 | 21 | 240 | 91.2% |
| Deerness (Historic) | 206 | 9 | 215 | 95.8% |
| Sherburn (Historic) | 202 | 9 | 211 | 95.7% |
| Shildon And Dene Valley (Historic) | 199 | 9 | 208 | 95.7% |
| Blackhalls (Historic) | 188 | 18 | 206 | 91.3% |
| West Auckland (Historic) | 191 | 5 | 196 | 97.4% |
| Aycliffe East (Historic) | 185 | 7 | 192 | 96.4% |
| Crook (Historic) | 185 | 6 | 191 | 96.9% |
| Benfieldside (Historic) | 182 | 9 | 191 | 95.3% |
| Tudhoe (Historic) | 180 | 9 | 189 | 95.2% |
| Easington (Historic) | 180 | 9 | 189 | 95.2% |
Showing top 25 of 113 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →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/26/00095/FPA Pelton | Single storey pitched roof extension to rear with flue. | Approved |
| DM/25/03604/FPA Belmont | Change of use from 1No 3 bedroom dwellinghouse to 2No 2 bedroom flats with singl | Refused |
| DM/25/02352/FPA Pelton | Proposed detached garage and main house extension including ground and first flo | Approved |
| DM/25/01963/FPA Consett South | Change of use from holiday let to unrestricted residential dwelling (Use class C | Approved |
| DM/25/00972/FPA Bishop Auckland | Conversion of first and second floor dwelling to 2no. two-bedroomed flats includ | Approved |
| DM/25/03533/FPA Neville's Cross | Raise height of single-storey rear roof to create accessible shower room, reloca | Approved |
| DM/25/03479/FPA Lanchester And Burnhope | Two storey side extension with balcony | Approved |
| DM/25/03449/FPA Derwent And Pont Valley | Change of use of existing shed to a dog grooming room. | Approved |
| DM/25/03330/FPA Bishop Auckland | Three rear garden outbuildings: retrospective garden room, a proposed shed and a | Approved |
| DM/25/00161/FPA Crook | Proposed Dwelling and Access | Refused |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on County Durham's 14,377 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
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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:
Based on 14,377 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in County Durham is 95.0%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 14,377 planning decisions from County Durham council. 13,657 were approved and 720 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in County Durham is 95.0%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.