Dorset planning approval rate
Dorset council approved 92.8% of planning applications and refused 7.2%, based on 25,048 decisions analysed. Ranked 187th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
92.8%
overall approval rate
25,048
Decisions analysed
23,254
Approved
1,794
Refused
57
Wards covered
Planning in Dorset? 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 Dorset. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
92.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Dorset, mined from 25,048 proposal descriptions.
91.3%
93.6%
94.3%
91.9%
94.1%
92.4%
97.0%
83.2%
88.7%
94.1%
95.8%
95.8%
87.9%
90.6%
91.3%
64.7%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Dorset. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Ward members
97.1%
St. Leonards and St. Ives
90.9%
Gillingham
93.4%
Beacon
95.0%
South East Purbeck
93.8%
West Purbeck
95.2%
Chalk Valleys
98.1%
Wareham
90.6%
Lytchett Matravers and Upton
87.5%
Colehill and Wimborne Minster East
93.5%
Ferndown North
92.6%
Stour and Allen Vale
80.7%
Lyme and Charmouth
93.4%
Verwood
86.9%
Rodwell and Wyke
91.9%
Yetminster
93.4%
Ferndown South
93.1%
Shaftesbury Town
96.1%
Corfe Mullen
88.6%
Swanage
92.3%
Wards in Dorset
Ward members
97.1% approval · 999 decisions
St. Leonards and St. Ives
90.9% approval · 901 decisions
Gillingham
93.4% approval · 854 decisions
Beacon
95.0% approval · 843 decisions
South East Purbeck
93.8% approval · 784 decisions
West Purbeck
95.2% approval · 777 decisions
Chalk Valleys
98.1% approval · 672 decisions
Wareham
90.6% approval · 659 decisions
Lytchett Matravers and Upton
87.5% approval · 634 decisions
Colehill and Wimborne Minster East
93.5% approval · 602 decisions
Ferndown North
92.6% approval · 555 decisions
Stour and Allen Vale
80.7% approval · 554 decisions
Lyme and Charmouth
93.4% approval · 530 decisions
Verwood
86.9% approval · 526 decisions
Rodwell and Wyke
91.9% approval · 506 decisions
Yetminster
93.4% approval · 502 decisions
Ferndown South
93.1% approval · 490 decisions
Shaftesbury Town
96.1% approval · 486 decisions
Corfe Mullen
88.6% approval · 483 decisions
Swanage
92.3% approval · 482 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Dorset, showing how the council decides real applications.
P/FUL/2025/07364
Erection of wooden sauna cabin. Retain existing use of pond for bathing with is · Bridport · 2026-08-14
P/FUL/2025/04406
Erection of 15 dwellings together with the provision of a central green, sports · South East Purbeck · 2026-08-14
P/LBC/2026/03667
Minor internal works to divide the building into two houses · Lyme and Charmouth · 2026-08-14
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Dorset, 1 in 14 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 Dorset
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Dorset →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Dorset
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 25,048 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Dorset
What is the planning approval rate in Dorset?
Based on 25,048 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Dorset approved 92.8% of applications and refused 7.2%. The council is ranked 187th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Dorset?
Dorset refuses 7.2% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 14. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 25,048 decided applications since 2020, 1,794 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Dorset have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Dorset are in Chalk Valleys (98.1%), Ward members (97.1%), and Dorchester East (96.9%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Dorset?
The most common planning application types in Dorset are: Other (25,048 decisions, 92.8% approved).
How long does a planning application take in Dorset?
Most planning applications in Dorset are decided within 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments, the statutory targets set by central government. With 25,048 decisions analysed since 2020, Dorset processes approximately 4,175 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Dorset?
You can search planning applications in Dorset directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 25,048 historical decisions in Dorset to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Dorset calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Dorset'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.