New Forest Council approves 87.7% of planning applications, based on 8,940 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. New Forest is closely in line with the national average.
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 New Forest.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 6,327 | 693 | 7,020 | 90.1% |
| Other | 464 | 96 | 560 | 82.9% |
| Listed Building | 470 | 63 | 533 | 88.2% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 309 | 20 | 329 | 93.9% |
| Advertisement | 206 | 29 | 235 | 87.7% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 1 | 169 | 170 | 0.6% |
| Prior Approval | 63 | 30 | 93 | 67.7% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lymington | 885 | 118 | 1,003 | 88.2% |
| Milford & Hordle | 662 | 103 | 765 | 86.5% |
| Ringwood South | 454 | 78 | 532 | 85.3% |
| Fordingbridge, Godshill & Hyde | 439 | 71 | 510 | 86.1% |
| Barton & Becton | 391 | 43 | 434 | 90.1% |
| Pennington | 357 | 64 | 421 | 84.8% |
| Ringwood North & Ellingham | 343 | 50 | 393 | 87.3% |
| Downlands & Forest North | 294 | 60 | 354 | 83.1% |
| Milton | 304 | 48 | 352 | 86.4% |
| Fawley, Blackfield, Calshot & Langley | 302 | 25 | 327 | 92.4% |
| Totton South | 251 | 25 | 276 | 90.9% |
| Marchwood & Eling | 221 | 25 | 246 | 89.8% |
| Bransgore, Burley, Sopley & Ringwood Eas | 197 | 28 | 225 | 87.6% |
| Dibden & Dibden Purlieu | 192 | 28 | 220 | 87.3% |
| Totton Central | 190 | 19 | 209 | 90.9% |
| Totton North | 165 | 12 | 177 | 93.2% |
| Hythe Central | 79 | 7 | 86 | 91.9% |
| Ashley, Bashley & Fernhill | 66 | 9 | 75 | 88.0% |
| Hardley, Holbury & North Blackfield | 51 | 6 | 57 | 89.5% |
| Hythe South | 47 | 6 | 53 | 88.7% |
| Ashurst, Bramshaw, Copythorne & Netley M | 36 | 6 | 42 | 85.7% |
| Ballard | 40 | 1 | 41 | 97.6% |
How New Forest’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 8.9pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from New Forest council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/10025 Hythe Central | Ground and first floor extension | Approved |
| 25/11160 Marchwood & Eling | Replacement of the existing timber patio doors and windows for uPVC doors and wi | Approved |
| 25/11131 Lymington | Two-storey rear extension - New roof to include high level roof lights - Alterat | Approved |
| 25/10875 Lymington | Single-storey rear extension; Roof replacement with solar panels; front & rear s | Approved |
| 25/10616 Milford & Hordle | Dwelling to rear of garden with cycle store and associated landscaping; porch ca | Approved |
| 26/10174 Fawley, Blackfield, Calshot & Langley | Additional storey (upward extension) (Prior Approval Application) | Refused |
| 26/10090 Totton Central | Single-storey rear extension (Prior Approval Application) | Approved |
| 26/10012 Bransgore, Burley, Sopley & Ringwood Eas | Rear extension following removal of conservatory; roof alterations including dor | Approved |
| 25/11163 Totton South | Two-storey side extension | Approved |
| 25/11120 Lymington | Size and material alteration to third floor windows | 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 New Forest's 8,940 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare New Forest's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into New Forest'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 New Forest. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 8,940 real decisions from New Forest 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 New Forest'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 8,940 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in New Forest is 87.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 8,940 planning decisions from New Forest council. 7,840 were approved and 1,100 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in New Forest is 87.7%, 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.