Planning Approval Rate in Derbyshire Dales
Derbyshire Dales is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89.2% of applications and decides 76.9% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #144 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Derbyshire Dales, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Derbyshire Dales District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 498 decisions (444 granted, 54 refused).
How Derbyshire Dales compares
| Derbyshire Dales | 89.2% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Derbyshire Dales is 2.2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Derbyshire Dales?
Derbyshire Dales is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89.2% of the applications it decides (rank 144th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89.2% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 23rd most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 54 of its 498 decisions were refusals (10.8%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 84.6% of major developments approved versus 91.1% of householder and other small-scale work, from 13 major decisions.
On timing it is among the slower authorities, deciding 76.9% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 498 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 Harborough (89.6%, more approving) and Nottingham (89.1%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare Derbyshire Dales with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Derbyshire Dales
Live planning activity in Derbyshire Dales District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 4 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Derbyshire Dales District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Derbyshire Dales District Council
Recent applications in Derbyshire Dales District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Derbyshire Dales page.
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Planning permission in Derbyshire Dales: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Derbyshire Dales?
On the latest official figures Derbyshire Dales is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89.2% of the 498 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Derbyshire Dales approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89.2% approved and 10.8% refused — 444 granted and 54 refused of 498 decisions, with major schemes approved at 84.6% and householder and other work at 91.1%.
How quickly does Derbyshire Dales decide planning applications?
On timing Derbyshire Dales is among the slower authorities: 76.9% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Derbyshire Dales stricter than nearby councils?
Derbyshire Dales's 89.2% approval rate makes it the 23rd most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Harborough approves 89.6% and Nottingham 89.1%.
Can I use Derbyshire Dales's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Derbyshire Dales 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 Derbyshire Dales 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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