Planning Approval Rate in Dover
Dover is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 90.4% of applications and decides 90.3% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #120 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Dover, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Dover District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 784 decisions (709 granted, 75 refused).
How Dover compares
| Dover | 90.4% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Dover is 3.4 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Dover?
Dover is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 90.4% of the applications it decides (rank 120th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 90.4% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 26th most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 75 of its 784 decisions were refusals (9.6%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 86.7% of major developments approved versus 92.3% of householder and other small-scale work, from 30 major decisions.
On timing it is about average on speed, deciding 90.3% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 784 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its South East neighbours it sits between West Berkshire (90.4%, more approving) and Horsham (89.8%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare Dover with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Dover
Live planning activity in Dover District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 11 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Dover District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Dover District Council
Recent applications in Dover District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Dover page.
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Planning permission in Dover: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Dover?
On the latest official figures Dover is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 90.4% of the 784 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Dover approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 90.4% approved and 9.6% refused — 709 granted and 75 refused of 784 decisions, with major schemes approved at 86.7% and householder and other work at 92.3%.
How quickly does Dover decide planning applications?
On timing Dover is about average on speed: 90.3% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Dover stricter than nearby councils?
Dover's 90.4% approval rate makes it the 26th most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring West Berkshire approves 90.4% and Horsham 89.8%.
Can I use Dover's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Dover 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 Dover 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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