Isle of Wight planning approval rate
Isle of Wight council approved 88.3% of planning applications and refused 11.7%, based on 14,720 decisions analysed. Ranked 92nd out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
88.3%
overall approval rate
14,720
Decisions analysed
13,002
Approved
1,718
Refused
59
Wards covered
Planning in Isle of Wight? 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 Isle of Wight. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
86.8%
94.5%
77.3%
90.2%
90.9%
72.8%
93.0%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Isle of Wight, mined from 14,720 proposal descriptions.
83.8%
92.2%
87.6%
90.2%
92.6%
93.8%
88.1%
86.7%
88.3%
90.9%
96.8%
81.6%
76.9%
75.0%
65.4%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Isle of Wight. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Nettlestone And Seaview
86.9%
Cowes West And Gurnard
88.6%
Ryde North West
93.3%
Shanklin South
87.9%
Bembridge
90.5%
Brading, St. Helens And Bembridge
90.0%
Brighstone Calbourne And Shalfleet
89.6%
Ventnor And St Lawrence
89.2%
Cowes North
88.1%
Newchurch Havenstreet And Ashey
86.3%
Binstead And Fishbourne
88.4%
Freshwater North And Yarmouth
87.0%
Freshwater South
85.3%
Central Rural
84.7%
Wootton Bridge
85.2%
Newport Central
91.2%
Chale Niton And Shorwell
86.2%
Cowes South And Northwood
89.9%
Wroxall Lowtherville And Bonchurch
90.5%
Arreton And Newchurch
86.2%
Wards in Isle of Wight
Nettlestone And Seaview
86.9% approval · 761 decisions
Cowes West And Gurnard
88.6% approval · 757 decisions
Ryde North West
93.3% approval · 625 decisions
Shanklin South
87.9% approval · 538 decisions
Bembridge
90.5% approval · 483 decisions
Brading, St. Helens And Bembridge
90.0% approval · 452 decisions
Brighstone Calbourne And Shalfleet
89.6% approval · 451 decisions
Ventnor And St Lawrence
89.2% approval · 446 decisions
Cowes North
88.1% approval · 429 decisions
Newchurch Havenstreet And Ashey
86.3% approval · 422 decisions
Binstead And Fishbourne
88.4% approval · 414 decisions
Freshwater North And Yarmouth
87.0% approval · 401 decisions
Freshwater South
85.3% approval · 389 decisions
Central Rural
84.7% approval · 373 decisions
Wootton Bridge
85.2% approval · 364 decisions
Newport Central
91.2% approval · 363 decisions
Chale Niton And Shorwell
86.2% approval · 312 decisions
Cowes South And Northwood
89.9% approval · 297 decisions
Wroxall Lowtherville And Bonchurch
90.5% approval · 295 decisions
Arreton And Newchurch
86.2% approval · 269 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Isle of Wight, showing how the council decides real applications.
Listed Building Consent for proposed alterations at ground floor and first floor · · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Listed Building Consent for works including internal alterations to partition lo · Sandown South · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Proposed replacement of four windows and two doors at ground floor level · Bembridge · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Isle of Wight, 1 in 9 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 Isle of Wight
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Isle of Wight →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Isle of Wight
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 14,720 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Isle of Wight
What is the planning approval rate in Isle of Wight?
Based on 14,720 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Isle of Wight approved 88.3% of applications and refused 11.7%. The council is ranked 92nd out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Isle of Wight?
Isle of Wight refuses 11.7% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 9. That is close to the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 14,720 decided applications since 2020, 1,718 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Isle of Wight have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Isle of Wight are in Freshwater North (96.0%), Totland (93.8%), and Ryde North West (93.3%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Isle of Wight?
The most common planning application types in Isle of Wight are: Full (7,820 decisions, 86.8% approved), Trees (4,214, 94.5%), and Other (1,104, 77.3%).
How long does a planning application take in Isle of Wight?
Planning applications in Isle of Wight take an average of 10.5 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 14,615 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. Isle of Wight decides approximately 2,453 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Isle of Wight?
You can search planning applications in Isle of Wight directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 14,720 historical decisions in Isle of Wight to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Isle of Wight calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Isle of Wight'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.