Surrey Heath planning approval rate
Surrey Heath council approved 90.2% of planning applications and refused 9.8%, based on 5,111 decisions analysed. Ranked 128th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
90.2%
overall approval rate
5,111
Decisions analysed
4,608
Approved
503
Refused
17
Wards covered
Planning in Surrey Heath? 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 Surrey Heath. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
89.1%
89.8%
94.9%
95.4%
85.3%
76.9%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Surrey Heath, mined from 5,111 proposal descriptions.
88.9%
88.1%
88.4%
87.6%
90.3%
83.0%
80.5%
87.1%
89.6%
87.1%
80.4%
86.5%
100.0%
96.4%
63.2%
61.5%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Surrey Heath. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Windlesham & Chobham
87.7%
Mytchett & Deepcut
94.3%
Lightwater
89.3%
Heatherside
91.4%
Parkside
88.4%
St Pauls
93.1%
Bisley & West End
84.5%
Town
91.1%
St Michaels
94.3%
Bagshot
90.4%
Watchetts
92.3%
Frimley
93.4%
Chobham
80.9%
Frimley Green
89.6%
West End
89.4%
Old Dean
89.7%
Outside Boundary
100.0%
Wards in Surrey Heath
Windlesham & Chobham
87.7% approval · 610 decisions
Mytchett & Deepcut
94.3% approval · 388 decisions
Lightwater
89.3% approval · 365 decisions
Heatherside
91.4% approval · 348 decisions
Parkside
88.4% approval · 336 decisions
St Pauls
93.1% approval · 334 decisions
Bisley & West End
84.5% approval · 323 decisions
Town
91.1% approval · 292 decisions
St Michaels
94.3% approval · 282 decisions
Bagshot
90.4% approval · 270 decisions
Watchetts
92.3% approval · 260 decisions
Frimley
93.4% approval · 258 decisions
Chobham
80.9% approval · 236 decisions
Frimley Green
89.6% approval · 221 decisions
West End
89.4% approval · 180 decisions
Old Dean
89.7% approval · 126 decisions
Outside Boundary
100.0% approval · 24 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Surrey Heath, showing how the council decides real applications.
Erection of single storey rear extension. · Lightwater · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Change of use from to residential (Class C3) to a Children's Residential Care Ho · Watchetts · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Erection of a replacement dwelling, conversion of retained garage into ancillary · · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Surrey Heath, 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 Surrey Heath
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Surrey Heath →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Surrey Heath
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 5,111 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Surrey Heath
What is the planning approval rate in Surrey Heath?
Based on 5,111 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Surrey Heath approved 90.2% of applications and refused 9.8%. The council is ranked 128th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Surrey Heath?
Surrey Heath refuses 9.8% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 10. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 5,111 decided applications since 2020, 503 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Surrey Heath have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Surrey Heath are in Mytchett & Deepcut (94.3%), St Michaels (94.3%), and Frimley (93.4%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Surrey Heath?
The most common planning application types in Surrey Heath are: Full (2,588 decisions, 89.1% approved), Other (1,710, 89.8%), and Trees (628, 94.9%).
How long does a planning application take in Surrey Heath?
Planning applications in Surrey Heath take an average of 12.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,084 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. Surrey Heath decides approximately 852 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Surrey Heath?
You can search planning applications in Surrey Heath directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 5,111 historical decisions in Surrey Heath to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Surrey Heath calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Surrey Heath'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.