Highland planning approval rate
Highland council approved 95.0% of planning applications and refused 5.0%, based on 2,750 decisions analysed. Ranked 247th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
95.0%
overall approval rate
2,750
Decisions analysed
2,612
Approved
138
Refused
21
Wards covered
Planning in Highland? 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 Highland. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
94.5%
96.0%
98.9%
96.6%
100.0%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Highland, mined from 2,750 proposal descriptions.
98.2%
95.7%
88.3%
99.3%
93.9%
100.0%
96.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Highland. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Cromarty Firth
97.7%
Caol And Mallaig
95.0%
Aird And Loch Ness
96.7%
Inverness West
90.4%
East Sutherland And Edderton
98.5%
Eilean A' Cheò
96.8%
Fort William And Ardnamurchan
92.2%
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer And Lochalsh
100.0%
North, West And Central Sutherland
97.3%
Badenoch And Strathspey
89.4%
Inverness South
93.1%
Dingwall And Seaforth
93.6%
Nairn And Cawdor
89.0%
Tain And Easter Ross
95.2%
Wick And East Caithness
96.3%
Inverness Ness-Side
96.1%
Black Isle
92.1%
Thurso And North West Caithness
96.6%
Inverness Central
94.1%
Inverness Millburn
97.8%
Wards in Highland
Cromarty Firth
97.7% approval · 219 decisions
Caol And Mallaig
95.0% approval · 218 decisions
Aird And Loch Ness
96.7% approval · 210 decisions
Inverness West
90.4% approval · 197 decisions
East Sutherland And Edderton
98.5% approval · 195 decisions
Eilean A' Cheò
96.8% approval · 187 decisions
Fort William And Ardnamurchan
92.2% approval · 167 decisions
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer And Lochalsh
100.0% approval · 152 decisions
North, West And Central Sutherland
97.3% approval · 148 decisions
Badenoch And Strathspey
89.4% approval · 132 decisions
Inverness South
93.1% approval · 102 decisions
Dingwall And Seaforth
93.6% approval · 94 decisions
Nairn And Cawdor
89.0% approval · 91 decisions
Tain And Easter Ross
95.2% approval · 83 decisions
Wick And East Caithness
96.3% approval · 81 decisions
Inverness Ness-Side
96.1% approval · 77 decisions
Black Isle
92.1% approval · 76 decisions
Thurso And North West Caithness
96.6% approval · 59 decisions
Inverness Central
94.1% approval · 51 decisions
Inverness Millburn
97.8% approval · 45 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Highland, showing how the council decides real applications.
Installation of 25.no replacement windows and external remedial works · Thurso And North West Caithness · Tue 04 Aug 2026
Erection of short term letting unit, erection of wall and formation of access · Aird And Loch Ness · Mon 03 Aug 2026
Alterations and extension · Badenoch And Strathspey · Mon 03 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Highland, 1 in 20 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 Highland
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Highland →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Highland
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 2,750 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Highland
What is the planning approval rate in Highland?
Based on 2,750 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Highland approved 95.0% of applications and refused 5.0%. The council is ranked 247th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Highland?
Highland refuses 5.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 20. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 2,750 decided applications since 2020, 138 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Highland have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Highland are in Wester Ross, Strathpeffer And Lochalsh (100.0%), East Sutherland And Edderton (98.5%), and Cromarty Firth (97.7%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Highland?
The most common planning application types in Highland are: Other (2,077 decisions, 94.5% approved), Full (426, 96.0%), and Prior Approval (189, 98.9%).
How long does a planning application take in Highland?
Planning applications in Highland take an average of 11.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 758 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. Highland decides approximately 458 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Highland?
You can search planning applications in Highland directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 2,750 historical decisions in Highland to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Highland calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Highland'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.