Durham planning applications
SiteLens tracks and classifies every planning application submitted to Durham County Council, updated daily. Durham County Council received 717 planning applications in the last 90 days, 21 of them major schemes. 94% of the applications it decided were approved, with a median decision time of 57 days.
Search Durham planning applications
Filter by type, value, date and status. The council's own register is on the official Durham County Council planning portal.
Recent applications in Durham
See all →Majors and higher-value work first, tree works, condition discharges and adverts last.
Land South West Of Short Row Bournmoor
111-home full phase within 299-home hybrid scheme, Bournmoor, full stage. Full consent for 111 homes with access and infrastructure, plus outline for up to 188 more, across 20.87 hectares. Groundworks, drainage and brickwork packages open first, with roofing and M&E following at volume.
GroundworksDrainageStructural frame
Red Barns Brandon Durham DH7 8DA
49-dwelling Brandon phase, reserved matters application submitted. Seeks approval of appearance, layout, landscaping and scale for Phase 2a under hybrid consent DM/25/00762/FPA. Groundworks, drainage, frame and brickwork packages will be sought for the phase, with hard landscaping across shared…
GroundworksDrainageStructural frame
Site Of Former Library And Adjacent Site Cheapside Spennymoor
Council car park creation, Spennymoor, full application stage. Creates a 1.3 hectare car park on the former library site at Cheapside, Spennymoor, at full application stage. Groundworks, sub-base and surfacing, drainage and line-marking packages suit local civil contractors and aggregate suppliers.
GroundworksDrainageHard landscaping
Land To The West Of Willow Tree Cottage East Hedleyhope DL13 4PR
Wind farm lifetime extension to 2030, Durham. Varies condition 4 so the existing turbines keep generating and decommissioning can align with a proposed repowering. No new construction is authorised by this application itself. Repowering scheme procurement is the commercial signal to track.
Caterpillar Mill Hill North West Industrial Estate Peterlee SR8 2HX
3.5MW rooftop solar array, Peterlee industrial estate, prior notification stage. Installs 7,158 panels of 485W each on an existing commercial building under permitted development prior approval. Mounting systems, DC cabling, inverters and grid connection works are the packages for electrical and…
RenewablesM&E
Spectrum Leisure Complex Hunwick Lane Willington Crook DL15 0JA
Leisure centre demolition prior notification, Willington Crook. Prior notification to clear the Spectrum Leisure Centre complex on Hunwick Lane ahead of redevelopment. Asbestos surveys, strip-out, demolition and skip hire are the immediate packages for specialist contractors.
Demolition
Maxifreeze Seaside Lane Easington Village Peterlee SR8 3JU
Five-flat Class MA conversion of former Maxifreeze unit, Easington Village. Converts a vacant commercial property into three two-bedroom and two one-bedroom apartments under prior approval. Internal fit-out, M&E, drainage and insulation packages suit local specialist subcontractors, with kitchens…
Fit-outM&EDrainage
Auton Lodge Auton Stile Bearpark Durham DH7 7DB
203 sqm former pub conversion to community hub and restaurant, Durham, full application. Converts a ground-floor former pub into a community workspace and bar/restaurant with external alterations, now at appeal. Interior fit-out, catering services and external joinery suit local contractors.
Fit-outM&EJoinery
Weardale House 13 Green Lane Spennymoor DL16 6HE
Single-storey side extension with canopy, Spennymoor, following demolition of existing extensions. Full application to strip the existing side additions and build a replacement single-storey wing with canopy at Weardale House. Demolition, groundworks and brickwork lead, with roofing, glazing and…
DemolitionGroundworksBrickwork
53 Frank Street Gilesgate Moor Durham DH1 2JF
Small HMO conversion with single-storey extension, Durham. Converts a house to a C4 shared house with cycle and bin storage at full application stage. Internal fit-out, kitchens and bathrooms, plus extension brickwork and groundworks, suit local trades.
Fit-outBrickworkRoofing
18 Redworth Road Shildon DL4 2JE
Modular self-service launderette, Shildon, retrospective full application. A prefabricated launderette unit and associated works on a 0.03ha site, already installed and now seeking planning consent. Plumbing, drainage connections and electrical fit-out for laundry machines are the packages for…
GroundworksM&EDrainage
Pikestone Redford Lane Redford Hamsterley Bishop Auckland DL13 3NL
Garage-to-holiday-let conversion, Hamsterley, County Durham. Converts a detached garage into one holiday let with new vehicular access and hardstanding at full application stage. Glazing, insulation, M&E and drainage fit-out, plus groundworks for the hardstanding, suit local specialist…
GroundworksHard landscapingGlazing
Stark Group Front Street Merrington Lane Spennymoor DL16 7RZ
Access widening at a Spennymoor commercial yard, Durham. Enlarges the existing entrance and egress with new kerbing and tarmac roadway at full application stage. Groundworks, kerbing and surfacing subcontractors are the relevant packages for a small civils job.
GroundworksHard landscaping
Burn View Primrose Hill Bournmoor Houghton-le-spring DH4 6BH
Two-storey side extension, Bournmoor, County Durham. Adds a two-storey side extension to an existing house at full planning stage. Brickwork, roofing and groundworks for the footings are the packages local trades can quote on.
BrickworkRoofingGroundworks
44 Orchard Drive Durham DH1 1LA
Two-storey rear extension replacing conservatories, Durham, full application. Removes both conservatories to build a replacement two-storey rear extension at Orchard Drive, Durham, at full application stage. Demolition, groundworks and brickwork lead, with roofing, glazing and joinery to follow.
DemolitionGroundworksBrickwork
Planning appeals in Durham County Council
An allowed appeal is one the council lost. Some kinds of appeal succeed far more often than others, so Durham County Council is compared with the national rate for its own mix.
Durham County Council, raw rate
21.3%
of judged appeals were allowed
Expected for this mix of appeals
27.6%
national rates applied to this caseload
6.3 percentage points below expected. Durham County Council's decisions are overturned less often than the national record predicts.
621 appeals counted, 591 judged either way (126 allowed, 465 dismissed), 30 judged neither way. These are appeals decided 2016-07 to 2026-06.
By kind of appeal
| Appeal type | This council | National | Cases | Judged | Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planning Appeal | 23.9% | 28.8% | 402 | 397 | 95 |
| Enforcement Notice | 5.5% | 13.5% | 79 | 73 | 4 |
| Householder (HAS) | 25.7% | 35.6% | 75 | 74 | 19 |
| Tree Preservation Order | 16.7% | 20.6% | 12 | 12 | 2 |
| Lawful Development Certificate | 33.3% | 36.9% | 9 | 9 | 3 |
| Commercial Appeal Service (CAS) | 0% | 33.3% | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Listed Building Consent & Conservation Area Consent Appeal | 25% | 25% | 8 | 8 | 2 |
9 more appeal types with fewer than 5 judged
| Appeal type | This council | National | Cases | Judged | Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common Land | None judged | Not published | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Rights of Way Opposed Orders | None judged | Not published | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| High Hedges | Too few judged | 28.5% | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Appeal against Enforcement Listed Building Notice/Enforcement Conservation Area Notice | Too few judged | 8.1% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Environmental | None judged | Not published | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Advertisement Appeal | Too few judged | 36% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Commercial Appeals Service (Adverts) | Too few judged | 27.6% | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hedgerow | Too few judged | 17% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Rights Of Way - Schedule 14A | None judged | Not published | 1 | 0 | 0 |
How we calculate this
Judged means allowed or dismissed. Withdrawn, invalid, split and unrecorded appeals are counted but never treated as appeals the council won. Expected applies the national rate for each appeal type to this council's own caseload. National rates by type are in The State of UK Planning.
Source: the Planning Inspectorate's Casework Database on GOV.UK, not the council's own planning register. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Money behind development in Durham County Council
Durham County Council's developer contribution register is not yet in SiteLens.
Affordable housing grant in Durham County Council
What central government confirmed: schemes in the area with Homes England grant agreed.
- Social rent204 homes
- Affordable rent299 homes
- Shared ownership191 homes
Source: Homes England Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026, GOV.UK transparency data, as at 31 March 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Grant requested is the figure when grant was confirmed, not money drawn down. Schemes are placed by local authority name.
Durham County Council approval rates by application type
Share of decided applications approved in the last 12 months.
- householder97% (433 decided)
- other92% (266 decided)
- commercial97% (99 decided)
- residential88% (65 decided)
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What you get with SiteLens
Map and project brief
Applications on a live map, with categories, trades and plain-English briefs. Filter by estimated value band.
Constraints and tenders
24 constraint flags on every site, and the public tenders and awards near it.
Daily alerts
New matching applications from this council, by email each morning.
Who's behind it (Pro)
The agent and applicant, their contact details where published, and the company directors.
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