Woking planning approval rate
Woking council approved 84.4% of planning applications and refused 15.6%, based on 2,663 decisions analysed. Ranked 41st out of 279 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
84.4%
overall approval rate
Planning in Woking?
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 Woking. 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 Woking — mined from 2,663 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Woking. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Heathlands (422 decided)
84.4%
Horsell (351 decided)
88.0%
Canalside (339 decided)
79.6%
Pyrford (336 decided)
85.1%
Byfleet And West Byfleet (322 decided)
85.4%
Mount Hermon (284 decided)
88.0%
Knaphill (181 decided)
84.0%
Hoe Valley (169 decided)
76.9%
St Johns (156 decided)
85.3%
Goldsworth Park (96 decided)
84.4%
Wards in Woking
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Woking, showing how the council decides real applications.
Large Leylandii tree (T1) in back garden - Fell. (Works within Waldens Park Road · Horsell · Fri 26 Jun 2026
T1 : Oak on the left rear boundary - Crown lift to give a 5 meter clearance from · Pyrford · Fri 26 Jun 2026
(T1) : Oak tree - Reduce crown of tree by 3/4m off top and 2m off sides to shape · Canalside · Fri 26 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Woking, 1 in 6 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 Woking
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Woking →
Free. Based on 2,663 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Woking
What is the planning approval rate in Woking?
Based on 2,663 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Woking approved 84.4% of applications and refused 15.6%. The council is ranked 41st out of 279 UK councils for approval rate.
Which areas of Woking have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Woking are in Horsell (88.0%), Mount Hermon (88.0%), and Byfleet And West Byfleet (85.4%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward — see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Woking?
The most common planning application types in Woking are: Full (1,236 decisions, 80.3% approved), Trees (622, 93.7%), and Discharge of Conditions (347, 96.3%).
How long does a planning application take in Woking?
Planning applications in Woking take an average of 11.1 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 2,635 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. Woking decides approximately 444 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Woking?
You can search planning applications in Woking directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 2,663 historical decisions in Woking to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Woking calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Woking'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.