Darlington Council approves 92.6% of planning applications, based on 3,317 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Darlington sits 4.0 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 468 decided applications, Darlington Council approved 93.6% of planning applications in 2025. Across 3,317 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Darlington is 92.6%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Darlington council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Darlington.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 1,472 | 83 | 1,555 | 94.7% |
| Trees | 396 | 75 | 471 | 84.1% |
| Other | 404 | 6 | 410 | 98.5% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 235 | 43 | 278 | 84.5% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 249 | 0 | 249 | 100.0% |
| Listed Building | 139 | 5 | 144 | 96.5% |
| Advertisement | 106 | 16 | 122 | 86.9% |
| Change of Use | 54 | 4 | 58 | 93.1% |
| Prior Approval | 17 | 13 | 30 | 56.7% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadberge And Middleton St George | 422 | 29 | 451 | 93.6% |
| Heighington And Coniscliffe | 318 | 16 | 334 | 95.2% |
| Park West | 307 | 20 | 327 | 93.9% |
| Park East | 281 | 31 | 312 | 90.1% |
| Hurworth | 219 | 18 | 237 | 92.4% |
| College | 182 | 18 | 200 | 91.0% |
| Brinkburn And Faverdale | 171 | 3 | 174 | 98.3% |
| Hummersknott | 151 | 20 | 171 | 88.3% |
| Mowden | 106 | 14 | 120 | 88.3% |
| Northgate | 91 | 17 | 108 | 84.3% |
| Pierremont | 95 | 10 | 105 | 90.5% |
| Stephenson | 101 | 3 | 104 | 97.1% |
| Harrowgate Hill | 95 | 3 | 98 | 96.9% |
| Eastbourne | 92 | 3 | 95 | 96.8% |
| Haughton And Springfield | 85 | 10 | 95 | 89.5% |
| North Road | 79 | 12 | 91 | 86.8% |
| Red Hall And Lingfield | 84 | 0 | 84 | 100.0% |
| Cockerton | 69 | 6 | 75 | 92.0% |
| Bank Top And Lascelles | 66 | 2 | 68 | 97.1% |
| Whinfield | 43 | 6 | 49 | 87.8% |
How Darlington’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 3.8pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Darlington council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00688/OHL Sadberge And Middleton St George | Replacement of existing poles 1-13 and conductor | Approved |
| 26/00651/HPD Brinkburn And Faverdale | Prior Approval for the erection of a single storey rear extension projecting 5.9 | Approved |
| 26/00556/FUL Park West | Erection of wooden gazebo to rear garden | Approved |
| 26/00534/FUL Red Hall And Lingfield | Erection of an external steel fire escape stair to the side/rear (east) elevatio | Approved |
| 26/00655/HPD Eastbourne | Prior Approval for the erection of a single storey rear extension projecting 6.0 | Approved |
| 26/00493/FUL Park East | Removal of shutter grilles and replacement of ground floor timber windows and do | Approved |
| 26/00387/DCLB Park East | Listed Building Consent for the replacement of window vinyls to 6 no. ground flo | Approved |
| 26/00327/ADV Northgate | Display of 1No. illuminated and 1No. non-illuminated fascia signs to front eleva | Approved |
| 26/00558/FUL College | Conversion of existing open-sided front porch into habitable accommodation | Approved |
| 26/00481/LBC Sadberge And Middleton St George | Listed Building Consent for installation of render to rear extension, replace gr | 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 Darlington's 3,317 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Darlington's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Darlington'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 Darlington. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 3,317 real decisions from Darlington 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 Darlington'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 3,317 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Darlington is 92.6%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 3,317 planning decisions from Darlington council. 3,072 were approved and 245 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Darlington is 92.6%, 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 Darlington? 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.