Three Rivers planning approval rate
Three Rivers council approved 92.2% of planning applications and refused 7.8%, based on 3,823 decisions analysed. Ranked 173rd out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
92.2%
overall approval rate
3,823
Decisions analysed
3,525
Approved
298
Refused
29
Wards covered
Planning in Three Rivers? 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 Three Rivers. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
91.8%
92.4%
90.7%
81.2%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Three Rivers, mined from 3,823 proposal descriptions.
92.2%
91.7%
89.2%
92.3%
92.6%
93.3%
93.3%
96.2%
97.3%
93.2%
89.8%
85.2%
84.6%
81.8%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Three Rivers. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Chorleywood North And Sarratt
91.3%
Moor Park And Eastbury
90.6%
Chorleywood South And Maple Cross
94.2%
Rickmansworth Town
94.6%
Dickinsons
90.9%
Carpenders Park
87.2%
Leavesden
91.6%
Abbots Langley And Bedmond
95.4%
Oxhey Hall And Hayling
95.9%
Gade Valley
87.1%
Chorleywood East
85.3%
Durrants
96.0%
Penn And Mill End
95.1%
Chorleywood West
94.0%
NOT IN DISTRICT See Details Under Parish
100.0%
South Oxhey
96.1%
Rickmansworth
91.3%
Croxley Green
90.5%
Oxhey Hall
97.1%
Rickmansworth West
89.7%
Wards in Three Rivers
Chorleywood North And Sarratt
91.3% approval · 656 decisions
Moor Park And Eastbury
90.6% approval · 543 decisions
Chorleywood South And Maple Cross
94.2% approval · 344 decisions
Rickmansworth Town
94.6% approval · 241 decisions
Dickinsons
90.9% approval · 232 decisions
Carpenders Park
87.2% approval · 180 decisions
Leavesden
91.6% approval · 178 decisions
Abbots Langley And Bedmond
95.4% approval · 173 decisions
Oxhey Hall And Hayling
95.9% approval · 172 decisions
Gade Valley
87.1% approval · 139 decisions
Chorleywood East
85.3% approval · 136 decisions
Durrants
96.0% approval · 126 decisions
Penn And Mill End
95.1% approval · 102 decisions
Chorleywood West
94.0% approval · 100 decisions
NOT IN DISTRICT See Details Under Parish
100.0% approval · 83 decisions
South Oxhey
96.1% approval · 77 decisions
Rickmansworth
91.3% approval · 69 decisions
Croxley Green
90.5% approval · 42 decisions
Oxhey Hall
97.1% approval · 35 decisions
Rickmansworth West
89.7% approval · 29 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Three Rivers, showing how the council decides real applications.
Demolition of existing conservatory, construction of single storey rear extensio · Chorleywood South And Maple Cross · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Construction of single storey front, rear and side extension, partial conversion · Oxhey Hall And Hayling · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Construction of a single storey side and rear extension · Dickinsons · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Three Rivers, 1 in 13 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 Three Rivers
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Three Rivers →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Three Rivers
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 3,823 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Three Rivers
What is the planning approval rate in Three Rivers?
Based on 3,823 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Three Rivers approved 92.2% of applications and refused 7.8%. The council is ranked 173rd out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Three Rivers?
Three Rivers refuses 7.8% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 13. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 3,823 decided applications since 2020, 298 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Three Rivers have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Three Rivers are in NOT IN DISTRICT See Details Under Parish (100.0%), South Oxhey (96.1%), and Durrants (96.0%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Three Rivers?
The most common planning application types in Three Rivers are: Trees (1,682 decisions, 91.8% approved), Other (1,373, 92.4%), and Full (464, 90.7%).
How long does a planning application take in Three Rivers?
Planning applications in Three Rivers take an average of 9.1 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 806 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. Three Rivers decides approximately 637 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Three Rivers?
You can search planning applications in Three Rivers directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 3,823 historical decisions in Three Rivers to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Three Rivers calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Three Rivers' 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.