North Somerset planning approval rate
North Somerset council approved 90.2% of planning applications and refused 9.8%, based on 19,440 decisions analysed. Ranked 121st out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
90.2%
overall approval rate
19,440
Decisions analysed
17,533
Approved
1,907
Refused
36
Wards covered
Planning in North Somerset? 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 North Somerset. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
89.9%
85.1%
97.5%
100.0%
92.9%
65.8%
92.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in North Somerset, mined from 19,440 proposal descriptions.
88.8%
94.7%
93.4%
80.9%
91.4%
90.5%
94.5%
89.1%
90.4%
91.7%
86.1%
96.1%
88.9%
85.4%
71.2%
89.3%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within North Somerset. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Long Ashton
93.3%
Banwell And Winscombe
90.3%
Weston-super-Mare Hillside
91.9%
Wrington
91.7%
Gordano Valley
85.8%
Yatton
89.3%
Blagdon And Churchill
90.5%
Winford
85.2%
Hutton And Locking
91.4%
Weston-super-Mare Central
84.6%
Portishead West
90.9%
Clevedon Walton
93.5%
Backwell
92.6%
Congresbury And Puxton
85.6%
Weston-super-Mare Uphill
92.1%
Portishead North
91.1%
Weston-super-Mare Kewstoke
87.2%
Pill
86.4%
Clevedon East
87.9%
Nailsea West End
91.0%
Wards in North Somerset
Long Ashton
93.3% approval · 1,709 decisions
Banwell And Winscombe
90.3% approval · 1,371 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Hillside
91.9% approval · 1,004 decisions
Wrington
91.7% approval · 893 decisions
Gordano Valley
85.8% approval · 861 decisions
Yatton
89.3% approval · 841 decisions
Blagdon And Churchill
90.5% approval · 832 decisions
Winford
85.2% approval · 817 decisions
Hutton And Locking
91.4% approval · 769 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Central
84.6% approval · 754 decisions
Portishead West
90.9% approval · 751 decisions
Clevedon Walton
93.5% approval · 723 decisions
Backwell
92.6% approval · 623 decisions
Congresbury And Puxton
85.6% approval · 609 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Uphill
92.1% approval · 579 decisions
Portishead North
91.1% approval · 576 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Kewstoke
87.2% approval · 561 decisions
Pill
86.4% approval · 485 decisions
Clevedon East
87.9% approval · 390 decisions
Nailsea West End
91.0% approval · 357 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in North Somerset, showing how the council decides real applications.
Proposed siting of a detached storage outbuilding to the West of the dwelling. · Banwell And Winscombe · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Proposed erection of an agricultural polytunnel. · Pill · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Proposed erection of a single-storey side extension. · Clevedon Yeo · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In North Somerset, 1 in 10 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 North Somerset
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for North Somerset →
✓ Common refusal reasons in North Somerset
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 19,440 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in North Somerset
What is the planning approval rate in North Somerset?
Based on 19,440 planning decisions analysed since 2020, North Somerset approved 90.2% of applications and refused 9.8%. The council is ranked 121st out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in North Somerset?
North Somerset refuses 9.8% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 10. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 19,440 decided applications since 2020, 1,907 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of North Somerset have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in North Somerset are in Portishead South (94.6%), Portishead East (93.9%), and Clevedon Walton (93.5%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in North Somerset?
The most common planning application types in North Somerset are: Full (10,142 decisions, 89.9% approved), Other (3,083, 85.1%), and Discharge of Conditions (1,993, 97.5%).
How long does a planning application take in North Somerset?
Planning applications in North Somerset take an average of 11.4 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 19,283 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. North Somerset decides approximately 3,240 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in North Somerset?
You can search planning applications in North Somerset directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 19,440 historical decisions in North Somerset to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for North Somerset calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes North Somerset'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.