Epsom & Ewell planning approval rate
Epsom & Ewell council approved 87.9% of planning applications and refused 12.1%, based on 8,700 decisions analysed. Ranked 85th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
87.9%
overall approval rate
8,700
Decisions analysed
7,643
Approved
1,057
Refused
16
Wards covered
Planning in Epsom & Ewell? 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 Epsom & Ewell. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
86.3%
94.2%
83.8%
91.0%
82.4%
75.0%
72.6%
65.6%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Epsom & Ewell, mined from 8,700 proposal descriptions.
87.4%
86.3%
87.3%
83.8%
84.2%
88.4%
88.7%
86.8%
90.1%
84.6%
89.0%
78.4%
84.0%
69.2%
77.8%
73.7%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Epsom & Ewell. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Town
83.6%
Woodcote And Langley Vale
89.0%
College
90.2%
Ewell Village
88.0%
Nonsuch
89.8%
Stamford
89.4%
Cuddington
87.4%
Ewell Court
86.3%
West Ewell
87.6%
Stoneleigh
84.3%
Court
88.9%
Auriol
88.3%
Ruxley
86.9%
Out Of Borough
100.0%
Horton
83.8%
Wards in Epsom & Ewell
Town
83.6% approval · 990 decisions
Woodcote And Langley Vale
89.0% approval · 986 decisions
College
90.2% approval · 896 decisions
Ewell Village
88.0% approval · 885 decisions
Nonsuch
89.8% approval · 861 decisions
Stamford
89.4% approval · 709 decisions
Cuddington
87.4% approval · 593 decisions
Ewell Court
86.3% approval · 532 decisions
West Ewell
87.6% approval · 484 decisions
Stoneleigh
84.3% approval · 479 decisions
Court
88.9% approval · 405 decisions
Auriol
88.3% approval · 402 decisions
Ruxley
86.9% approval · 320 decisions
Out Of Borough
100.0% approval · 71 decisions
Horton
83.8% approval · 68 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Epsom & Ewell, showing how the council decides real applications.
Fell Leylandii in rear garden · Nonsuch · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Single storey rear extension following demolition of existing conservatory · Stoneleigh · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Installation of a timber boundary fence to the front elevation of the garages · Ewell Court · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Epsom & Ewell, 1 in 8 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 Epsom & Ewell
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Epsom & Ewell →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Epsom & Ewell
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 8,700 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Epsom & Ewell
What is the planning approval rate in Epsom & Ewell?
Based on 8,700 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Epsom & Ewell approved 87.9% of applications and refused 12.1%. The council is ranked 85th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Epsom & Ewell?
Epsom & Ewell refuses 12.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 8. That is close to the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 8,700 decided applications since 2020, 1,057 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Epsom & Ewell have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Epsom & Ewell are in Out Of Borough (100.0%), College (90.2%), and Nonsuch (89.8%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Epsom & Ewell?
The most common planning application types in Epsom & Ewell are: Full (3,750 decisions, 86.3% approved), Trees (1,733, 94.2%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (1,129, 87.9%).
How long does a planning application take in Epsom & Ewell?
Planning applications in Epsom & Ewell take an average of 9.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 8,683 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. Epsom & Ewell decides approximately 1,450 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Epsom & Ewell?
You can search planning applications in Epsom & Ewell directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 8,700 historical decisions in Epsom & Ewell to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Epsom & Ewell calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Epsom & Ewell'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.