Midlothian planning approval rate
Midlothian council approved 94.1% of planning applications and refused 5.9%, based on 1,314 decisions analysed. Ranked 207th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
94.1%
overall approval rate
Planning in Midlothian?
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 Midlothian. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Midlothian, mined from 1,314 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Midlothian. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Midlothian East (308 decided)
97.7%
Midlothian West (285 decided)
94.0%
Bonnyrigg (213 decided)
92.5%
Dalkeith (190 decided)
94.2%
Midlothian South (157 decided)
87.9%
Penicuik (156 decided)
95.5%
Wards in Midlothian
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Midlothian, showing how the council decides real applications.
Erection of fence and gate · Midlothian South · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Erection of forestry building · Dalkeith · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Alteration to garage door openings to form windows · Bonnyrigg · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Midlothian, 1 in 17 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 Midlothian
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Midlothian →
Free. Based on 1,314 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Midlothian
What is the planning approval rate in Midlothian?
Based on 1,314 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Midlothian approved 94.1% of applications and refused 5.9%. The council is ranked 207th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Midlothian?
Midlothian refuses 5.9% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 17. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 1,314 decided applications since 2020, 77 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Midlothian have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Midlothian are in Midlothian East (97.7%), Penicuik (95.5%), and Dalkeith (94.2%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Midlothian?
The most common planning application types in Midlothian are: Other (790 decisions, 92.0% approved), Trees (251, 100.0%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (92, 91.3%).
How long does a planning application take in Midlothian?
Planning applications in Midlothian take an average of 9.0 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,312 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. Midlothian decides approximately 219 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Midlothian?
You can search planning applications in Midlothian directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 1,314 historical decisions in Midlothian to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Midlothian calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Midlothian'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.