Planning applications in Mid Devon

Planning in Mid Devon

Mid Devon has 2,573 listed buildings and 21 Article 4 directions, and about a quarter of recent refusals mentioned heritage. Even so, planning permission is granted readily: of the more than 7,100 applications decided since 2020, about 1 in 14 was refused, against about 1 in 7 across the areas we cover. East Devon, next door, refuses about 1 in 8, so Mid Devon is gentler.

Garden rooms and outbuildings are the most common kind of work, with 1,104 applications, and only about 1 in 21 was refused. Windows and doors follow with 721 (about 1 in 23), then rear extensions with 667 (about 1 in 29) and side extensions with 365 (about 1 in 32). Front extensions and porches, and loft conversions and dormers, are each about 1 in 22. Solar panels are about 1 in 24, and fences, walls and gates about 1 in 17.

The exception is driveways and dropped kerbs. With 219 applications, they are refused about 1 in 10 times, more often than anything else here, though still less often than the 1 in 5 across the areas we cover. If a new driveway is part of your plans, look at what has been approved on nearby roads before applying.

When Mid Devon does refuse, the reasons are worth noting. About four and a half in ten refusals mention size, bulk or design. About a third mention building outside towns and villages, and about three in ten the look of the street or area. Heritage and highways, which covers parking, access and road safety, each come up in about a quarter. Missing information features in about one in seven, while neighbours’ light and privacy, and trees, are each mentioned in under one in ten.

The typical householder decision takes about 8 weeks, and about 73 in 100 are decided within 8 weeks.

Activity has been steady. There were 1,295 applications in 2025, against an average of about 1,294 a year in the three years before, and the busiest year since 2020 was 2021 with 1,607. The refusal rate was about the same as before, at about 1 in 14.

Figures in this section as of 9 October 2026.