The problem
Planning data in the UK is public. But it’s scattered across hundreds of council websites, each running a different system with different formats. There’s no single place to see approval rates, refusal patterns, or how your area stacks up against the rest of the country.
So homeowners spend thousands on architect drawings before knowing whether their council is likely to say yes. A refused application can cost £4,000+. Most people only find that out after applying.
Why now
Construction costs are rising. Architect fees are rising. Planning application fees went up again in 2024. The cost of getting it wrong has never been higher.
At the same time, council portals are publishing more data than ever. The information to make smarter decisions is there — it just hasn’t been pulled together. Until now.
What we’re building
We collect and analyse real planning decisions from council portals across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 3,700,000+ decisions and counting.
Every number on this site comes directly from those records. No estimates. No modelling. No guesswork.
- Approval rates calculated from decided applications only
- Every result links back to the original council record — so you can verify any number yourself
- New decisions added weekly from live council portals
- 305+ councils covered, home to 83%+ of the UK population, and expanding every week
This is a living dataset, not a static snapshot. We’re actively adding councils, improving coverage, and refining how we classify decisions.
For the full technical detail, see our methodology.
Who’s behind this
Before PlanningLens, I spent 17 years as a broadcast journalist and news anchor in Seoul, reporting and presenting for Arirang TV, KBS World Radio and TBS eFM. Those years in newsrooms shaped how this site works: every figure has to be checkable, every claim traceable to a source, and the methodology published in full — because I know exactly what an editor asks before a number goes to air.
PlanningLens started when I wanted to understand local approval patterns before applying for an extension of my own. The data existed — scattered across hundreds of council websites — but nobody had pulled it together. So I did.
PlanningLens builds and runs the whole pipeline in-house: the scrapers, the analysis, and the site. Every decision in the database comes directly from council planning portals, and every statistic links back to the original council records, so you — or your editor — can verify any number on this site independently.
Why it matters
A refused application doesn’t just cost the £258 fee. Architect drawings, structural surveys, consultant fees — you can be £4,000–£5,000 down with nothing to show for it.
PlanningLens helps you understand the patterns before you spend that money. Not instead of professional advice. Before you invest in it.
For journalists and press
PlanningLens covers 305+ UK councils, home to 83%+ of the UK population: 3.7 million real decisions, approval-rate breakdowns, decision-time analysis and regional comparisons. Two research briefings are live: The Eight-Week Myth, on how long householder planning decisions really take against the 8-week statutory target, and The HMO Squeeze, on the surge in HMO applications and the rise in refusals. Ready-made per-council press packs are available for every ranked council, and bespoke cuts of the data can be turned around quickly.
Emails reach Mark directly, not a press office: hello@planninglens.co.uk
Last updated: July 2026