Winchester planning approval rate
Winchester council approved 94.9% of planning applications and refused 5.1%, based on 7,039 decisions analysed. Ranked 247th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
94.9%
overall approval rate
7,039
Decisions analysed
6,683
Approved
356
Refused
16
Wards covered
Planning in Winchester? 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 Winchester. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
94.3%
97.9%
94.6%
96.7%
92.1%
93.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Winchester, mined from 7,039 proposal descriptions.
94.6%
97.4%
97.1%
95.3%
92.9%
95.7%
98.0%
95.0%
82.1%
96.6%
92.9%
96.6%
93.2%
96.8%
78.9%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Winchester. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
ST MICHAEL WARD
96.7%
WONSTON AND MICHELDEVER WARD
96.7%
BADGER FARM AND OLIVERS BATTERY WARD
95.0%
WHITELEY AND SHEDFIELD WARD
92.6%
ALRESFORD AND ITCHEN VALLEY WARD
95.6%
ST PAUL WARD
97.9%
ST BARNABAS WARD
94.1%
ST BARTHOLOMEW WARD
94.4%
BISHOPS WALTHAM
94.6%
DENMEAD WARD
91.0%
CENTRAL MEON VALLEY WARD
92.2%
SOUTHWICK AND WICKHAM WARD
93.7%
THE WORTHYS WARD
94.4%
COLDEN COMMON AND TWYFORD WARD
95.9%
ST LUKE WARD
95.3%
UPPER MEON VALLEY WARD
95.8%
Wards in Winchester
ST MICHAEL WARD
96.7% approval · 1,083 decisions
WONSTON AND MICHELDEVER WARD
96.7% approval · 665 decisions
BADGER FARM AND OLIVERS BATTERY WARD
95.0% approval · 578 decisions
WHITELEY AND SHEDFIELD WARD
92.6% approval · 541 decisions
ALRESFORD AND ITCHEN VALLEY WARD
95.6% approval · 519 decisions
ST PAUL WARD
97.9% approval · 514 decisions
ST BARNABAS WARD
94.1% approval · 474 decisions
ST BARTHOLOMEW WARD
94.4% approval · 428 decisions
BISHOPS WALTHAM
94.6% approval · 411 decisions
DENMEAD WARD
91.0% approval · 390 decisions
CENTRAL MEON VALLEY WARD
92.2% approval · 372 decisions
SOUTHWICK AND WICKHAM WARD
93.7% approval · 366 decisions
THE WORTHYS WARD
94.4% approval · 340 decisions
COLDEN COMMON AND TWYFORD WARD
95.9% approval · 197 decisions
ST LUKE WARD
95.3% approval · 106 decisions
UPPER MEON VALLEY WARD
95.8% approval · 48 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Winchester, showing how the council decides real applications.
Amalgamation of two dwellings: the proposal seeks to confirm that this does not · THE WORTHYS WARD · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Installation of ten solar panels on the rear elevation. · ALRESFORD AND ITCHEN VALLEY WARD · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Single Storey front extension and associated works · THE WORTHYS WARD · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Winchester, 1 in 20 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 Winchester
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Winchester →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Winchester
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 7,039 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Winchester
What is the planning approval rate in Winchester?
Based on 7,039 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Winchester approved 94.9% of applications and refused 5.1%. The council is ranked 247th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Winchester?
Winchester refuses 5.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 20. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 7,039 decided applications since 2020, 356 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Winchester have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Winchester are in ST PAUL WARD (97.9%), ST MICHAEL WARD (96.7%), and WONSTON AND MICHELDEVER WARD (96.7%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Winchester?
The most common planning application types in Winchester are: Full (3,493 decisions, 94.3% approved), Trees (1,610, 97.9%), and Other (997, 94.6%).
How long does a planning application take in Winchester?
Planning applications in Winchester take an average of 10.9 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 6,996 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. Winchester decides approximately 1,173 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Winchester?
You can search planning applications in Winchester directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 7,039 historical decisions in Winchester to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Winchester calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Winchester'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.