Woking planning approval rate
Woking council approved 85.8% of planning applications and refused 14.2%, based on 7,909 decisions analysed. Ranked 56th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
85.8%
overall approval rate
7,909
Decisions analysed
6,783
Approved
1,126
Refused
11
Wards covered
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.
81.2%
95.0%
96.7%
77.2%
88.0%
52.7%
91.7%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Woking, mined from 7,909 proposal descriptions.
83.2%
85.5%
84.4%
79.1%
80.9%
82.1%
80.6%
84.8%
88.5%
87.2%
78.4%
79.7%
85.0%
95.2%
66.1%
50.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Woking. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Heathlands
84.1%
Horsell
88.1%
Pyrford
86.8%
Byfleet And West Byfleet
87.5%
Canalside
83.6%
Mount Hermon
90.1%
St Johns
84.5%
Knaphill
83.4%
Hoe Valley
81.6%
Goldsworth Park
84.0%
Wards in Woking
Heathlands
84.1% approval · 1,217 decisions
Horsell
88.1% approval · 1,041 decisions
Pyrford
86.8% approval · 1,010 decisions
Byfleet And West Byfleet
87.5% approval · 950 decisions
Canalside
83.6% approval · 947 decisions
Mount Hermon
90.1% approval · 819 decisions
St Johns
84.5% approval · 554 decisions
Knaphill
83.4% approval · 535 decisions
Hoe Valley
81.6% approval · 517 decisions
Goldsworth Park
84.0% approval · 287 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Woking, showing how the council decides real applications.
Erection of a single storey side and rear extension following demolition of exis · Byfleet And West Byfleet · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Retrospective planning permission for a rear outbuilding. · St Johns · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Erection of a part single storey, part two storey rear extension. New rear porch · Mount Hermon · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Woking, 1 in 7 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 →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Woking
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 7,909 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Woking
What is the planning approval rate in Woking?
Based on 7,909 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Woking approved 85.8% of applications and refused 14.2%. The council is ranked 56th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Woking?
Woking refuses 14.2% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 7. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 7,909 decided applications since 2020, 1,126 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Woking have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Woking are in Mount Hermon (90.1%), Horsell (88.1%), and Byfleet And West Byfleet (87.5%). 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 (3,774 decisions, 81.2% approved), Trees (1,761, 95.0%), and Discharge of Conditions (1,040, 96.7%).
How long does a planning application take in Woking?
Planning applications in Woking take an average of 11.5 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 7,855 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 1,318 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 7,909 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.