Leeds vs Birmingham — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Leeds and Birmingham? A side-by-side comparison based on 73,295 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Leeds: 86.6%

44,523 decisions · 38,566 approved · 5,957 refused · 33 wards

Birmingham: 81.4%

28,772 decisions · 23,429 approved · 5,343 refused · 0 wards

Overall approval rates

Leeds (44,523 decided)

86.6%

Birmingham (28,772 decided)

81.4%

By application type

Advertisement — Leeds (1,184 decided)

85.9%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Leeds (5,054 decided)

84.8%

Discharge of Conditions — Leeds (5,293 decided)

87.8%

Full — Leeds (22,870 decided)

85.0%

Listed Building — Leeds (1,241 decided)

92.8%

Other — Leeds (2,871 decided)

77.2%

Other — Birmingham (28,772 decided)

81.4%

Trees — Leeds (6,010 decided)

96.6%

What the numbers mean

There is a 5.2 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Birmingham 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

Leeds full data Birmingham full data