Exeter planning approval rate
Exeter council approved 90.9% of planning applications and refused 9.1%, based on 7,254 decisions analysed. Ranked 144th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
90.9%
overall approval rate
7,254
Decisions analysed
6,591
Approved
663
Refused
13
Wards covered
Planning in Exeter? 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 Exeter. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
88.7%
94.8%
93.9%
90.5%
89.0%
93.1%
77.7%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Exeter, mined from 7,254 proposal descriptions.
91.5%
87.0%
91.4%
89.7%
83.5%
91.5%
86.2%
84.2%
92.9%
81.5%
86.1%
71.0%
85.2%
87.7%
74.5%
75.6%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Exeter. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Topsham
90.6%
St Davids
92.2%
Newtown And St Leonards
93.2%
Duryard And St James
90.3%
Alphington
93.6%
Heavitree
93.7%
Pinhoe
89.0%
Pennsylvania
90.4%
St Loyes
87.8%
St Thomas
86.2%
Priory
88.2%
Mincinglake And Whipton
84.4%
Exwick
87.7%
Wards in Exeter
Topsham
90.6% approval · 1,019 decisions
St Davids
92.2% approval · 1,009 decisions
Newtown And St Leonards
93.2% approval · 946 decisions
Duryard And St James
90.3% approval · 742 decisions
Alphington
93.6% approval · 594 decisions
Heavitree
93.7% approval · 463 decisions
Pinhoe
89.0% approval · 419 decisions
Pennsylvania
90.4% approval · 418 decisions
St Loyes
87.8% approval · 384 decisions
St Thomas
86.2% approval · 348 decisions
Priory
88.2% approval · 338 decisions
Mincinglake And Whipton
84.4% approval · 212 decisions
Exwick
87.7% approval · 203 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Exeter, showing how the council decides real applications.
Installation of rooflights to front and rear roof planes · St Davids · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Replacement windows and door; formation of off-road car parking · St Davids · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Replacement roof covering · Priory · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Exeter, 1 in 11 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 Exeter
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Exeter →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Exeter
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 7,254 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Exeter
What is the planning approval rate in Exeter?
Based on 7,254 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Exeter approved 90.9% of applications and refused 9.1%. The council is ranked 144th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Exeter?
Exeter refuses 9.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 11. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 7,254 decided applications since 2020, 663 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Exeter have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Exeter are in Heavitree (93.7%), Alphington (93.6%), and Newtown And St Leonards (93.2%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Exeter?
The most common planning application types in Exeter are: Full (3,291 decisions, 88.7% approved), Trees (1,430, 94.8%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (710, 91.8%).
How long does a planning application take in Exeter?
Planning applications in Exeter take an average of 10.0 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 7,218 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. Exeter decides approximately 1,209 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Exeter?
You can search planning applications in Exeter directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 7,254 historical decisions in Exeter to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Exeter calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Exeter'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.