Planning Approval Rate in Somerset
Somerset is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89% of applications and decides 86% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #147 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Somerset, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Somerset Council.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 3,851 decisions (3,429 granted, 422 refused).
How Somerset compares
| Somerset | 89% |
| South West average | 89.5% |
| England average | 87% |
Somerset is 2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Somerset?
Somerset is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89% of the applications it decides (rank 147th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South West it is the 12th most approving of 27 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.5%. Refusals are uncommon here: 422 of its 3,851 decisions were refusals (11%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 86.2% of major developments approved versus 92.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 138 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 86% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 3,851 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its South West neighbours it sits between Swindon (89.2%, more approving) and East Devon (89%, stricter). For context in South West, Cheltenham approves the most (96.5%) and Gloucester the least (80.5%).
Compare Somerset with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South West. See the full South West league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Somerset
Live planning activity in Somerset 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 Somerset Council
Where planning activity concentrates in Somerset Council
Recent applications in Somerset Council
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Somerset page.
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Planning permission in Somerset: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Somerset?
On the latest official figures Somerset is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89% of the 3,851 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Somerset approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89% approved and 11% refused — 3,429 granted and 422 refused of 3,851 decisions, with major schemes approved at 86.2% and householder and other work at 92.7%.
How quickly does Somerset decide planning applications?
On timing Somerset is a little slower than average: 86% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Somerset stricter than nearby councils?
Somerset's 89% approval rate makes it the 12th most approving of 27 authorities in South West, against a 89.5% regional average. Neighbouring Swindon approves 89.2% and East Devon 89%.
Can I use Somerset's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Somerset 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 Somerset 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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