Planning Approval Rate in New Forest
New Forest is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 90.6% of applications and decides 95.2% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #116 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in New Forest, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across New Forest District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 912 decisions (826 granted, 86 refused).
How New Forest compares
| New Forest | 90.6% |
| South East average | 87.2% |
| England average | 87% |
New Forest is 3.6 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in New Forest?
New Forest is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 90.6% of the applications it decides (rank 116th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 90.6% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South East it is the 23rd most approving of 65 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 87.2%. Refusals are uncommon here: 86 of its 912 decisions were refusals (9.4%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 90.9% of major developments approved versus 94% of householder and other small-scale work, from 33 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 95.2% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 912 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 Isle of Wight (91.2%, more approving) and Lewes (90.5%, stricter). For context in South East, Fareham approves the most (98%) and Windsor and Maidenhead the least (68.9%).
Compare New Forest with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South East. See the full South East league table.
Approval rate by development scale in New Forest
Live planning activity in New Forest District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 1 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in New Forest District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in New Forest District Council
Recent applications in New Forest District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch New Forest page.
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Planning permission in New Forest: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in New Forest?
On the latest official figures New Forest is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 90.6% of the 912 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does New Forest approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 90.6% approved and 9.4% refused — 826 granted and 86 refused of 912 decisions, with major schemes approved at 90.9% and householder and other work at 94%.
How quickly does New Forest decide planning applications?
On timing New Forest is a little faster than average: 95.2% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is New Forest stricter than nearby councils?
New Forest's 90.6% approval rate makes it the 23rd most approving of 65 authorities in South East, against a 87.2% regional average. Neighbouring Isle of Wight approves 91.2% and Lewes 90.5%.
Can I use New Forest's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application New Forest 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 New Forest 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.
Download the data (JSON) · CSV · National league table · South East league table
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