Planning Approval Rate in Newark and Sherwood
Newark and Sherwood is somewhat more approving than the England average for planning permission: it approves 91% of applications and decides 90.6% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #106 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Newark and Sherwood, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Newark and Sherwood District Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 746 decisions (679 granted, 67 refused).
How Newark and Sherwood compares
| Newark and Sherwood | 91% |
| East Midlands average | 89.8% |
| England average | 87% |
Newark and Sherwood is 4 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Newark and Sherwood?
Newark and Sherwood is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 91% of the applications it decides (rank 106th of 310). That puts it somewhat more approving than the England average — 91% approved against an England average of 87%. Within East Midlands it is the 16th most approving of 35 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.8%. Refusals are uncommon here: 67 of its 746 decisions were refusals (9%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 89.5% of major developments approved versus 93.3% of householder and other small-scale work, from 38 major decisions.
On timing it is about average on speed, deciding 90.6% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 746 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 Derby (91%, more approving) and Boston (90.9%, stricter). For context in East Midlands, North Kesteven approves the most (97.2%) and Oadby and Wigston the least (71.7%).
Compare Newark and Sherwood with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in East Midlands. See the full East Midlands league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Newark and Sherwood
Live planning activity in Newark and Sherwood District Council
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 3 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Newark and Sherwood District Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Newark and Sherwood District Council
Recent applications in Newark and Sherwood District Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Newark and Sherwood page.
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Planning permission in Newark and Sherwood: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Newark and Sherwood?
On the latest official figures Newark and Sherwood is somewhat more approving than the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 91% of the 746 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Newark and Sherwood approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 91% approved and 9% refused — 679 granted and 67 refused of 746 decisions, with major schemes approved at 89.5% and householder and other work at 93.3%.
How quickly does Newark and Sherwood decide planning applications?
On timing Newark and Sherwood is about average on speed: 90.6% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Newark and Sherwood stricter than nearby councils?
Newark and Sherwood's 91% approval rate makes it the 16th most approving of 35 authorities in East Midlands, against a 89.8% regional average. Neighbouring Derby approves 91% and Boston 90.9%.
Can I use Newark and Sherwood's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Newark and Sherwood 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 Newark and Sherwood 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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