Cotswold vs Cheltenham — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Cotswold and Cheltenham? A side-by-side comparison based on 13,907 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

Cotswold: 96.6%

7,093 decisions · 6,853 approved · 240 refused · 32 wards

Cheltenham: 95.3%

6,814 decisions · 6,497 approved · 317 refused · 20 wards

Overall approval rates

Cotswold (7,093 decided)

96.6%

Cheltenham (6,814 decided)

95.3%

By application type

Advertisement — Cotswold (44 decided)

97.7%

Advertisement — Cheltenham (166 decided)

90.4%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Cotswold (151 decided)

90.1%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Cheltenham (31 decided)

0.0%

Change of Use — Cheltenham (64 decided)

95.3%

Discharge of Conditions — Cotswold (737 decided)

99.7%

Discharge of Conditions — Cheltenham (208 decided)

95.7%

Full — Cotswold (3,157 decided)

95.3%

Full — Cheltenham (3,740 decided)

95.1%

Listed Building — Cotswold (723 decided)

96.0%

Listed Building — Cheltenham (791 decided)

96.7%

Other — Cotswold (387 decided)

89.9%

Other — Cheltenham (1,433 decided)

98.9%

Prior Approval — Cotswold (21 decided)

90.5%

Prior Approval — Cheltenham (18 decided)

0.0%

Trees — Cotswold (1,873 decided)

99.8%

Trees — Cheltenham (363 decided)

96.1%

What the numbers mean

There is a 1.3 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Cheltenham is the stricter of the two, which means similar applications may face higher refusal risk there. However, approval rates vary by ward and application type, so your specific situation may differ from the averages.

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See detailed data

Cotswold full data Cheltenham full data