Highland Council approves 94.8% of planning applications, based on 2,338 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Highland sits 6.5 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 161 decided applications, Highland Council approved 98.8% of planning applications in 2025. Across 2,338 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Highland is 94.8%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Highland council planning portal records · Updated June 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report, 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 Highland.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 1,919 | 113 | 2,032 | 94.4% |
| Prior Approval | 152 | 2 | 154 | 98.7% |
| Full | 122 | 5 | 127 | 96.1% |
| Listed Building | 12 | 0 | 12 | 100.0% |
| Advertisement | 8 | 0 | 8 | 100.0% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 4 | 0 | 4 | 100.0% |
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, your free property report is emailed in minutes.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cromarty Firth | 206 | 4 | 210 | 98.1% |
| Caol And Mallaig | 190 | 11 | 201 | 94.5% |
| Inverness West | 169 | 19 | 188 | 89.9% |
| East Sutherland And Edderton | 176 | 3 | 179 | 98.3% |
| Aird And Loch Ness | 162 | 7 | 169 | 95.9% |
| Eilean A' Cheò | 139 | 5 | 144 | 96.5% |
| Fort William And Ardnamurchan | 132 | 11 | 143 | 92.3% |
| North, West And Central Sutherland | 126 | 4 | 130 | 96.9% |
| Wester Ross, Strathpeffer And Lochalsh | 113 | 0 | 113 | 100.0% |
| Badenoch And Strathspey | 83 | 5 | 88 | 94.3% |
| Inverness South | 80 | 7 | 87 | 92.0% |
| Nairn And Cawdor | 74 | 10 | 84 | 88.1% |
| Dingwall And Seaforth | 80 | 4 | 84 | 95.2% |
| Inverness Ness-Side | 64 | 3 | 67 | 95.5% |
| Tain And Easter Ross | 63 | 3 | 66 | 95.5% |
| Black Isle | 51 | 6 | 57 | 89.5% |
| Wick And East Caithness | 53 | 3 | 56 | 94.6% |
| Thurso And North West Caithness | 41 | 2 | 43 | 95.3% |
| Inverness Millburn | 37 | 1 | 38 | 97.4% |
| Inverness Central | 34 | 2 | 36 | 94.4% |
| Culloden And Ardersier | 28 | 0 | 28 | 100.0% |
How Highland’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 2.1pp since 2021.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Highland council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/01631/FUL Inverness Ness-Side | Extension and alterations to car park | Approved |
| 26/00944/FUL Aird And Loch Ness | Erection of pod | Approved |
| 26/02033/PNO Tain And Easter Ross | Erection of agricultural building (class 18) | Approved |
| 26/02036/SCRE Dingwall And Seaforth | Demolition of existing Dingwall Primary School. Construction of new joint campus | Approved |
| 26/01860/FUL Nairn And Cawdor | Erection of replacement reception and sales building | Approved |
| 26/01611/FUL Culloden And Ardersier | Infill balcony to enlarge dwelling | Approved |
| 26/00889/FUL East Sutherland And Edderton | Erection of annex for family use | Approved |
| 26/00815/FUL Inverness Central | Change of use from Manager's Accommodation to Guest House | Approved |
| 26/00771/MSC Caol And Mallaig | Proposed hospital (Class 8) with associated energy centre, outbuildings, and mis | Approved |
| 26/02151/FUL Badenoch And Strathspey | Replacement roof and balcony | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Highland's 2,338 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Highland's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Highland's planning statistics, by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Highland. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 2,338 real decisions from Highland council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Highland's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 2,338 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Highland is 94.8%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 2,338 planning decisions from Highland council. 2,217 were approved and 121 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Highland is 94.8%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.
Writing about planning in Highland? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.