North Somerset planning approval rate
North Somerset council approved 90.3% of planning applications and refused 9.7%, based on 20,205 decisions analysed. Ranked 128th out of 292 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
90.3%
overall approval rate
20,205
Decisions analysed
18,247
Approved
1,958
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.
90.0%
85.4%
97.5%
100.0%
92.8%
66.4%
93.1%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in North Somerset, mined from 20,205 proposal descriptions.
88.9%
94.6%
93.4%
81.0%
91.6%
90.6%
94.6%
89.4%
90.5%
91.9%
86.6%
96.3%
89.3%
85.9%
71.4%
89.8%
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
91.8%
Wrington
91.9%
Gordano Valley
86.0%
Yatton
89.1%
Blagdon And Churchill
90.6%
Winford
85.6%
Hutton And Locking
91.4%
Portishead West
91.3%
Weston-super-Mare Central
85.1%
Clevedon Walton
93.5%
Backwell
92.6%
Congresbury And Puxton
86.3%
Weston-super-Mare Uphill
92.2%
Portishead North
91.2%
Weston-super-Mare Kewstoke
87.1%
Pill
86.8%
Clevedon East
88.5%
Nailsea West End
91.2%
Wards in North Somerset
Long Ashton
93.3% approval · 1,772 decisions
Banwell And Winscombe
90.3% approval · 1,407 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Hillside
91.8% approval · 1,046 decisions
Wrington
91.9% approval · 930 decisions
Gordano Valley
86.0% approval · 896 decisions
Yatton
89.1% approval · 872 decisions
Blagdon And Churchill
90.6% approval · 868 decisions
Winford
85.6% approval · 857 decisions
Hutton And Locking
91.4% approval · 798 decisions
Portishead West
91.3% approval · 784 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Central
85.1% approval · 777 decisions
Clevedon Walton
93.5% approval · 754 decisions
Backwell
92.6% approval · 658 decisions
Congresbury And Puxton
86.3% approval · 650 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Uphill
92.2% approval · 604 decisions
Portishead North
91.2% approval · 593 decisions
Weston-super-Mare Kewstoke
87.1% approval · 575 decisions
Pill
86.8% approval · 509 decisions
Clevedon East
88.5% approval · 409 decisions
Nailsea West End
91.2% approval · 373 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in North Somerset, showing how the council decides real applications.
Proposed demolition of existing conservatory, erection of a single storey rear e · Gordano Valley · Thu 20 Aug 2026
Proposed demolition of existing conservatory and erection of single storey side · Weston-super-Mare Milton · Thu 20 Aug 2026
Change of use of Lower Ground Floor of existing public house to use as a Tattoo · Weston-super-Mare Hillside · Thu 20 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more 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 20,205 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in North Somerset
What is the planning approval rate in North Somerset?
Based on 20,205 planning decisions analysed since 2020, North Somerset approved 90.3% of applications and refused 9.7%. The council is ranked 128th out of 292 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in North Somerset?
North Somerset refuses 9.7% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 10. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 20,205 decided applications since 2020, 1,958 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 (93.7%), 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 (10,450 decisions, 90.0% approved), Other (3,212, 85.4%), and Discharge of Conditions (2,123, 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 20,042 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 3,368 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 20,205 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.