Planning Approval Rate in Fareham
Fareham is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 98% of applications and decides 98.8% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #1 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Fareham, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Fareham Borough Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 595 decisions (583 granted, 12 refused).
How Fareham compares
| Fareham | 98% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
Fareham is 11 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Fareham?
Fareham is the single most approving planning authority in England, granting 98% of the applications it decides (rank 1st of 310). That puts it markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council — 98% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are rare here: 12 of its 595 decisions were refusals (2%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 94.7% of major developments approved versus 98.9% of householder and other small-scale work, from 19 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 98.8% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 595 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. It is more approving than its nearest South East peer by rank, Vale of White Horse (95.5%). At the other end of South East, Windsor and Maidenhead is the strictest authority, approving 68.9%.
Compare Fareham with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Fareham
Live planning activity in Fareham Borough Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 24 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Fareham Borough Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Fareham Borough Council
Recent applications in Fareham Borough Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Fareham page.
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Planning permission in Fareham: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Fareham?
On the latest official figures Fareham is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council and the single most approving planning authority in England, approving 98% of the 595 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Fareham approve or refuse?
Refusals are rare here: 98% approved and 2% refused — 583 granted and 12 refused of 595 decisions, with major schemes approved at 94.7% and householder and other work at 98.9%.
How quickly does Fareham decide planning applications?
On timing Fareham is among the faster authorities: 98.8% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Fareham stricter than nearby councils?
Fareham's 98% approval rate makes it the most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Vale of White Horse approves 95.5%.
Can I use Fareham's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Fareham 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 Fareham Borough 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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