Guildford vs Cotswold — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Guildford and Cotswold? A side-by-side comparison based on 32,822 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Guildford: 81.7%

16,951 decisions · 13,847 approved · 3,104 refused · 21 wards

Cotswold: 95.4%

15,871 decisions · 15,141 approved · 730 refused · 32 wards

Overall approval rates

Guildford (16,951 decided)

81.7%

Cotswold (15,871 decided)

95.4%

By application type

Advertisement — Guildford (295 decided)

84.4%

Advertisement — Cotswold (119 decided)

88.2%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Guildford (1,726 decided)

75.2%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Cotswold (359 decided)

88.9%

Discharge of Conditions — Guildford (2,261 decided)

75.9%

Discharge of Conditions — Cotswold (1,996 decided)

98.5%

Full — Guildford (8,667 decided)

81.6%

Full — Cotswold (6,408 decided)

93.4%

Listed Building — Guildford (523 decided)

88.1%

Listed Building — Cotswold (1,636 decided)

94.6%

Other — Guildford (1,523 decided)

73.8%

Other — Cotswold (870 decided)

86.3%

Prior Approval — Cotswold (67 decided)

92.5%

Trees — Guildford (1,956 decided)

98.6%

Trees — Cotswold (4,416 decided)

99.8%

What the numbers mean

There is a 13.7 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Guildford 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

Guildford full data Cotswold full data