Darlington Council approves 91.6% of planning applications, based on 2,301 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Darlington sits 3.6 percentage points above the national average.
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 Darlington.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 1,134 | 60 | 1,194 | 95.0% |
| Trees | 254 | 73 | 327 | 77.7% |
| Other | 208 | 5 | 213 | 97.7% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 150 | 32 | 182 | 82.4% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 155 | 0 | 155 | 100.0% |
| Listed Building | 88 | 5 | 93 | 94.6% |
| Advertisement | 63 | 3 | 66 | 95.5% |
| Change of Use | 47 | 3 | 50 | 94.0% |
| Prior Approval | 9 | 12 | 21 | 42.9% |
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 | 273 | 27 | 300 | 91.0% |
| Heighington And Coniscliffe | 216 | 14 | 230 | 93.9% |
| Park West | 209 | 19 | 228 | 91.7% |
| Park East | 181 | 16 | 197 | 91.9% |
| Hurworth | 159 | 11 | 170 | 93.5% |
| College | 130 | 18 | 148 | 87.8% |
| Hummersknott | 110 | 16 | 126 | 87.3% |
| Brinkburn And Faverdale | 118 | 3 | 121 | 97.5% |
| Mowden | 79 | 12 | 91 | 86.8% |
| Stephenson | 74 | 3 | 77 | 96.1% |
| Haughton And Springfield | 66 | 9 | 75 | 88.0% |
| Pierremont | 61 | 9 | 70 | 87.1% |
| Harrowgate Hill | 65 | 3 | 68 | 95.6% |
| North Road | 60 | 8 | 68 | 88.2% |
| Eastbourne | 62 | 2 | 64 | 96.9% |
| Red Hall And Lingfield | 61 | 0 | 61 | 100.0% |
| Northgate | 51 | 10 | 61 | 83.6% |
| Cockerton | 52 | 5 | 57 | 91.2% |
| Bank Top And Lascelles | 40 | 1 | 41 | 97.6% |
| Whinfield | 30 | 4 | 34 | 88.2% |
How Darlington’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — down 1.7pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 22/00266/FUL Cockerton | Erection of a single storey extension to rear (west) elevation (as amended by pl | Approved |
| 21/01093/FUL Red Hall And Lingfield | Erection of 2 no. self-storage buildings (Use Class B8) together with car parkin | Approved |
| 22/00531/FUL Heighington And Coniscliffe | Erection of a single storey rear extension (as amended by plans received 30/05/2 | Approved |
| 22/00681/PLU Eastbourne | Demolition of rear porch and conservatory, erection of single storey extension t | Refused |
| 22/00496/FUL Red Hall And Lingfield | Erection of single storey side extension | Approved |
| 22/00513/FUL College | Installation of an access gate into the existing rear garden boundary wall | Approved |
| 22/00489/LBC Park East | Listed Building Consent for the installation of a painted mural to boundary wall | Approved |
| 22/00417/AG Heighington And Coniscliffe | Prior approval for the erection of 1 no. agricultural building to be used for th | Approved |
| 22/00510/FUL College | Erection of a single storey rear extension, minor internal alterations, loft con | Approved |
| 22/00439/FUL Hurworth | Enlargement to roof to include increased living space including dormer extension | 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 2,301 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 2,301 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 2,301 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Darlington is 91.6%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 2,301 planning decisions from Darlington council. 2,108 were approved and 193 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Darlington is 91.6%, 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.