Harborough planning approval rate
Harborough council approved 91.4% of planning applications and refused 8.6%, based on 3,940 decisions analysed. Ranked 154th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
91.4%
overall approval rate
3,940
Decisions analysed
3,602
Approved
338
Refused
19
Wards covered
Planning in Harborough? 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 Harborough. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
89.2%
97.2%
98.4%
79.3%
93.1%
88.2%
90.7%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Harborough, mined from 3,940 proposal descriptions.
91.8%
89.2%
94.4%
82.4%
91.0%
91.0%
91.5%
89.1%
92.6%
91.5%
88.9%
86.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Harborough. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Nevill
90.9%
Kibworths
89.8%
Thurnby And Houghton
89.0%
Market Harborough Great Bowden And Arden
90.3%
Lubenham
95.6%
Billesdon And Tilton
88.2%
Bosworth
93.0%
Glen
91.3%
Dunton
94.0%
Ullesthorpe
91.6%
Market Harborough Logan
92.7%
Misterton
93.3%
Fleckney
90.9%
Broughton Astley South And Leire
91.3%
Market Harborough Little Bowden
89.2%
Lutterworth East
89.9%
Broughton Astley Primethorpe And Sutton
93.1%
Market Harborough Welland
95.3%
Lutterworth West
94.2%
Wards in Harborough
Nevill
90.9% approval · 384 decisions
Kibworths
89.8% approval · 363 decisions
Thurnby And Houghton
89.0% approval · 353 decisions
Market Harborough Great Bowden And Arden
90.3% approval · 320 decisions
Lubenham
95.6% approval · 272 decisions
Billesdon And Tilton
88.2% approval · 262 decisions
Bosworth
93.0% approval · 256 decisions
Glen
91.3% approval · 253 decisions
Dunton
94.0% approval · 232 decisions
Ullesthorpe
91.6% approval · 190 decisions
Market Harborough Logan
92.7% approval · 179 decisions
Misterton
93.3% approval · 135 decisions
Fleckney
90.9% approval · 132 decisions
Broughton Astley South And Leire
91.3% approval · 115 decisions
Market Harborough Little Bowden
89.2% approval · 111 decisions
Lutterworth East
89.9% approval · 109 decisions
Broughton Astley Primethorpe And Sutton
93.1% approval · 101 decisions
Market Harborough Welland
95.3% approval · 86 decisions
Lutterworth West
94.2% approval · 86 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Harborough, showing how the council decides real applications.
Replacement porch · Dunton · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Demolition of existing former agricultural storage outbuildings and erection of · Misterton · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Change of Use of outbuilding to holiday/short term let (retrospective) · Market Harborough Welland · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Harborough, 1 in 12 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 Harborough
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Harborough →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Harborough
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 3,940 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Harborough
What is the planning approval rate in Harborough?
Based on 3,940 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Harborough approved 91.4% of applications and refused 8.6%. The council is ranked 154th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Harborough?
Harborough refuses 8.6% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 12. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 3,940 decided applications since 2020, 338 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Harborough have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Harborough are in Lubenham (95.6%), Market Harborough Welland (95.3%), and Lutterworth West (94.2%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Harborough?
The most common planning application types in Harborough are: Full (1,562 decisions, 89.2% approved), Trees (933, 97.2%), and Discharge of Conditions (571, 98.4%).
How long does a planning application take in Harborough?
Planning applications in Harborough take an average of 10.5 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 3,909 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. Harborough decides approximately 657 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Harborough?
You can search planning applications in Harborough directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 3,940 historical decisions in Harborough to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Harborough calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Harborough'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.