Scarborough Council approves 84.4% of planning applications, based on 327 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Scarborough sits 4.2 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 327 decided applications published since January 2020, Scarborough Council approved 84.4% of planning applications. The national average approval rate across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Scarborough council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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 Scarborough.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 181 | 27 | 208 | 87.0% |
| Other | 37 | 9 | 46 | 80.4% |
| Listed Building | 25 | 4 | 29 | 86.2% |
| Trees | 15 | 6 | 21 | 71.4% |
| Advertisement | 13 | 1 | 14 | 92.9% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 4 | 4 | 8 | 50.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weaponness & Ramshill | 42 | 8 | 50 | 84.0% |
| Castle | 35 | 5 | 40 | 87.5% |
| Whitby Streonshalh | 30 | 6 | 36 | 83.3% |
| Hunmanby And Sherburn | 21 | 7 | 28 | 75.0% |
| Filey | 20 | 1 | 21 | 95.2% |
| Whitby West | 18 | 2 | 20 | 90.0% |
| Derwent Valley & Moor | 13 | 4 | 17 | 76.5% |
| Scalby And The Coast | 14 | 3 | 17 | 82.4% |
| Cayton | 12 | 3 | 15 | 80.0% |
| Falsgrave & Stepney | 13 | 2 | 15 | 86.7% |
| Seamer | 14 | 0 | 14 | 100.0% |
| Esk Valley And Coast | 10 | 2 | 12 | 83.3% |
| Newby | 9 | 2 | 11 | 81.8% |
| Northstead | 8 | 1 | 9 | 88.9% |
| Danby & Mulgrave | 5 | 2 | 7 | 71.4% |
| Eastfield | 6 | 0 | 6 | 100.0% |
| Woodlands | 4 | 1 | 5 | 80.0% |
Real residential planning decisions from Scarborough council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| ZF25/01095/AA Eastfield | Proposed 2no. free standing sign on boundary, and 2 signs affixed to external wa | Approved |
| ZF25/00992/FL Hunmanby And Sherburn | Redevelopment and change of use from of No.10 Holiday Homes to No.9 market dwell | Refused |
| ZF25/00442/FL Hunmanby And Sherburn | Erection of 3No dwellings | Refused |
| ZF25/01006/HS Filey | Erection of two storey side and single storey rear extensions including dormer w | Approved |
| ZF25/00876/HS Falsgrave & Stepney | Two storey side extension and raising of roof to include dormer window with Juli | Approved |
| ZF25/01148/FL Woodlands | Installation of new replacement theatre plant room, and erection of a stair core | Approved |
| ZF25/01161/HS Northstead | Demolition of wall and fence, installation of a dropped kerb and associated alte | Refused |
| ZF25/00890/HS Weaponness & Ramshill | Extension of patio area to the front/south elevation including pergola, ramp, an | Refused |
| ZF25/01137/HS Derwent Valley & Moor | Raise the existing ridge height by 850mm, which will change the roof pitch from | Refused |
| ZF25/01066/FL Seamer | Erection of 2no. storey extension to form 10no. additional bedroom and associate | 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 Scarborough's 327 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Scarborough's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
More council comparisons coming soon.
Dig deeper into Scarborough'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 Scarborough. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 327 real decisions from Scarborough 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 Scarborough'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 327 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Scarborough is 84.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 327 planning decisions from Scarborough council. 276 were approved and 51 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Scarborough is 84.4%, 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.
Writing about planning in Scarborough? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.