West Northamptonshire planning approval rate
West Northamptonshire council approved 93.5% of planning applications and refused 6.5%, based on 260 decisions analysed. Ranked 209th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
93.5%
overall approval rate
Planning in West Northamptonshire?
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 West Northamptonshire. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in West Northamptonshire, mined from 260 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within West Northamptonshire. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Wards in West Northamptonshire
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in West Northamptonshire, showing how the council decides real applications.
Extension and conversion of existing garage to provide an annexe · Hunsbury Ward · 2026-08-14
Prologis Building Stamp Signs on Warehouse Elevations - Quantity 5 · Braunston & Crick Ward · 2026-08-14
Single storey rear extension, erection of front and rear dormers and dropped ker · Abington and Phippsville Ward · 2026-08-13
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In West Northamptonshire, 1 in 15 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 West Northamptonshire
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for West Northamptonshire →
Free. Based on 260 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in West Northamptonshire
What is the planning approval rate in West Northamptonshire?
Based on 260 planning decisions analysed since 2020, West Northamptonshire approved 93.5% of applications and refused 6.5%. The council is ranked 209th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in West Northamptonshire?
West Northamptonshire refuses 6.5% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 15. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 260 decided applications since 2020, 17 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of West Northamptonshire have the highest planning approval rates?
Approval rates in West Northamptonshire vary by ward, see the ward breakdown above for detailed figures for each area.
What types of planning application are most common in West Northamptonshire?
The most common planning application types in West Northamptonshire are: Discharge of Conditions (66 decisions, 98.5% approved), Trees (65, 100.0%), and Full (58, 87.9%).
How long does a planning application take in West Northamptonshire?
Planning applications in West Northamptonshire take an average of 6.5 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 259 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is inside 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. West Northamptonshire decides approximately 43 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in West Northamptonshire?
You can search planning applications in West Northamptonshire directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 260 historical decisions in West Northamptonshire to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for West Northamptonshire calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes West Northamptonshire'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.