Planning Approval Rate in Bolsover
Bolsover is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 96.3% of applications and decides 99.7% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #8 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Bolsover, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Bolsover District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 294 decisions (283 granted, 11 refused).
How Bolsover compares
| Bolsover | 96.3% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Bolsover is 9.3 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Bolsover?
Bolsover is among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, granting 96.3% of the applications it decides (rank 8th of 310). That puts it markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council — 96.3% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 3rd most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are rare here: 11 of its 294 decisions were refusals (3.7%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 92.3% of major developments approved versus 96.2% of householder and other small-scale work, from 13 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 99.7% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 294 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its East Midlands neighbours it sits between Mansfield (96.4%, more approving) and Amber Valley (95.7%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare Bolsover with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Bolsover
Live planning activity in Bolsover District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 18 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Bolsover District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Bolsover District Council
Recent applications in Bolsover District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Bolsover page.
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Planning permission in Bolsover: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Bolsover?
On the latest official figures Bolsover is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council and among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, approving 96.3% of the 294 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Bolsover approve or refuse?
Refusals are rare here: 96.3% approved and 3.7% refused — 283 granted and 11 refused of 294 decisions, with major schemes approved at 92.3% and householder and other work at 96.2%.
How quickly does Bolsover decide planning applications?
On timing Bolsover is among the faster authorities: 99.7% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Bolsover stricter than nearby councils?
Bolsover's 96.3% approval rate makes it the 3rd most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Mansfield approves 96.4% and Amber Valley 95.7%.
Can I use Bolsover's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Bolsover decided, not a prediction for any individual application; your outcome depends on the site, the proposal, local planning policy and any objections.
Methodology & limits
Approval, refusal and in-time rates come from the government's official PS2 planning application statistics (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government), covering 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. This dataset is England-only and published annually, so it lags live activity. Live figures are the applications PlanWatch has collected for Bolsover District Council and are not a complete council register. Refusal reasons and delegated-vs-committee splits are not published in this data.
This is a historic average, not a prediction. It cannot tell you whether your application will be approved — that depends on your site, proposal, local policy and any objections.
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