Will the council say yes?

Q: Is the free pattern check accurate?

The free check gives you a reliable estimate based on your council's overall approval rate for your application type. The detailed report goes much deeper, ward-level data, approval trends over time, refusal pattern analysis, appeal outcomes, comparable decisions, and property-specific factors that the free check can't cover.

See what’s already been approved on your street, from 3,750,000+ real council decisions.

Sample result Plymouth City Council · PL6

Live from Plymouth’s planning register · updated 15 Aug 2026

93%

of nearby applications approved
1 in 14 refused · typical decision 8 weeks from 1,100 decisions in the PL6 area

108 Bowden Park Road Plymouth PL6 5NQ

Retrospective application for new outbuilding

Approved

26/00916/FUL · decided 14 Aug 2026View on council register →

21 Law Walk Plymouth PL6 6LY

Domestic loft conversion with dormers

Refused

26/00322/FUL · decided 30 Jul 2026View on council register →

5 Westwood Avenue Plymouth PL6 7HS

Proposed rear extension to existing dwelling with internal alterations

Approved

26/00917/FUL · decided 14 Aug 2026View on council register →

Every figure traces to a council record you can open yourself. See the methodology →

Sample for Plymouth PL6. Enter your postcode above to see this for your street.

As featured inYorkshire Evening Post · Mansfield Chad · MyLondon · LandlordZONE

Built from the same public records the councils publish themselves, so our figures track the government’s own data. When we measured Canterbury’s householder decision times, we landed within two points of the official figure: 42% against 44%.

3.7M+real council decisions 305+councils 83%of UK population covered Freealways, no signup

See the patterns for your address

Which wards approve. Which refuse. Which design choices keep coming back. Free, property-specific PDF in your inbox in 2 minutes.

Free · no card required · one email, no marketing list.

A few recent decisions nearby

A small sample, the full report shows decisions matched to your project type and ward.

Why not just search the council website yourself?

The council portal shows you applications, one at a time. PlanningLens shows you approvals: how projects like yours actually fared, ward by ward, and how long decisions really took. Same public records, added up into an answer.

Get your free planning report

Before you spend on drawings or pre-app fees: consultant-grade analysis for your exact property, free, emailed in two minutes.

Report cover: generated for your property

See the full sample report →

Approval rates for projects like yours
Why similar applications were refused
Ward-level patterns for your exact property

Free · no card required · one email, no marketing list. Sample based on Leeds, your report is generated for your specific property and council.

For planning consultants

Refusal intelligence for your patch

Refusal alerts

£79/month

No VAT chargeable.

Each week, new refusals across up to five councils of your choice, straight from portal decision lists, in your inbox while the appeal window is still open.

Start alerts →

Evidence packs

£195 · £295

No VAT chargeable.

Comparable decisions, refusal reasons and portal records for one site, compiled into an appeal-ready pack.

See evidence packs →

Planning permission in London

1,070,000+ decisions across all 33 boroughs. Your council gets the same treatment, whichever it is.

Highest approval

Southwark93.4%

Wandsworth93.3%

Kensington & Chelsea92.5%

Camden92.3%

Hammersmith & Fulham92.1%

Toughest boroughs

Brent76.0%

Greenwich78.1%

Redbridge79.0%

Hillingdon79.0%

Waltham Forest79.2%

See all 33 boroughs ranked →

These are borough averages, your street could be very different. Check your postcode →

Frequently asked questions

What’s in the detailed report?

A comprehensive PDF report compiled specifically for your property and council. It includes an executive summary, approval trend analysis, time-to-decision data, extension-by-extension approval breakdown, refusal pattern analysis, appeal outcome statistics, delegated vs committee decision patterns, comparable planning decisions with council portal links, and recommended next steps. Report depth varies by council based on the data each authority publishes. The report is emailed to you within minutes of submitting your request.

How is this different from asking my architect?

An architect gives you one person’s experience. PlanningLens gives you the actual pattern across thousands of real decisions near you, which project types get refused, in which wards, and how long they take. Use both: the data to plan, the architect to design.

Where does the data come from?

All data is sourced directly from local authority planning portals, the same public records that planning officers, architects, and solicitors use. We gather, structure, and analyse decisions from January 2020 onwards across 305+ councils in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, covering 83%+ of the UK population.

Is the free pattern check accurate?

It reflects real published decisions. When we measured Canterbury’s householder decision times against the government’s own figure, we landed within two points, 42% against the official 44%. It shows patterns, not a guarantee: every application is decided on its own merits.

Is this planning advice?

No. PlanningLens is a statistical analysis based on historical outcomes. It helps you make an informed decision about whether to proceed, but it does not replace formal planning advice. We always recommend consulting a qualified planning professional before submitting an application.