Exeter Council approves 90.5% of planning applications, based on 6,750 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Exeter sits 2.6 percentage points above the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 Exeter.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 2,756 | 371 | 3,127 | 88.1% |
| Trees | 1,242 | 71 | 1,313 | 94.6% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 596 | 45 | 641 | 93.0% |
| Listed Building | 562 | 40 | 602 | 93.4% |
| Other | 424 | 47 | 471 | 90.0% |
| Advertisement | 238 | 19 | 257 | 92.6% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 223 | 32 | 255 | 87.5% |
| Prior Approval | 65 | 19 | 84 | 77.4% |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topsham | 843 | 96 | 939 | 89.8% |
| St Davids | 842 | 79 | 921 | 91.4% |
| Newtown And St Leonards | 819 | 62 | 881 | 93.0% |
| Duryard And St James | 617 | 64 | 681 | 90.6% |
| Alphington | 522 | 37 | 559 | 93.4% |
| Heavitree | 406 | 27 | 433 | 93.8% |
| Pinhoe | 348 | 44 | 392 | 88.8% |
| Pennsylvania | 352 | 38 | 390 | 90.3% |
| St Loyes | 320 | 46 | 366 | 87.4% |
| St Thomas | 282 | 48 | 330 | 85.5% |
| Priory | 275 | 40 | 315 | 87.3% |
| Mincinglake And Whipton | 169 | 33 | 202 | 83.7% |
| Exwick | 173 | 25 | 198 | 87.4% |
Real residential planning decisions from Exeter council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/0146/ADV Newtown And St Leonards | 3nr sign boards of 1.5m x 1.2m in size, advertising the service of residential a | Approved |
| 26/0032/FUL St Loyes | Proposed extension of existing external yard area, installation of new security | Approved |
| 26/0011/FUL Topsham | Proposed replacement windows | Refused |
| 26/0049/LBC Exwick | Installation of new solar PV panels to roof pitches with new battery/inverter in | Refused |
| 26/0007/FUL Priory | The installation of a Solar PV array on the roof | Approved |
| 26/0004/FUL Heavitree | Single storey side extension | Approved |
| 25/1798/ADV St Davids | New window vinyl, door vinyl, fascia sign (5.45m wide x 0.4m high x 0.1m deep) a | Approved |
| 25/1535/FUL Duryard And St James | Ground floor front facing extension, extension to garage for workshop space, and | Approved |
| 26/0075/LBC Newtown And St Leonards | Replacement of window on the north (garden) elevation with a set of French doors | Approved |
| 26/0014/FUL Duryard And St James | Single storey rear extension. | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Exeter's 6,750 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
Get My Pro Report — £79Compare Exeter's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Exeter's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 6,750 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Exeter is 90.5%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 6,750 planning decisions from Exeter council. 6,106 were approved and 644 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Exeter is 90.5%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.