Leeds vs Bradford — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Leeds and Bradford? A side-by-side comparison based on 70,827 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Leeds: 86.6%

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

Bradford: 78.4%

26,304 decisions · 20,617 approved · 5,687 refused · 30 wards

Overall approval rates

Leeds (44,523 decided)

86.6%

Bradford (26,304 decided)

78.4%

By application type

Advertisement — Leeds (1,184 decided)

85.9%

Advertisement — Bradford (509 decided)

76.4%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Leeds (5,054 decided)

84.8%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Bradford (1,400 decided)

81.7%

Discharge of Conditions — Leeds (5,293 decided)

87.8%

Discharge of Conditions — Bradford (335 decided)

89.0%

Full — Leeds (22,870 decided)

85.0%

Full — Bradford (14,664 decided)

82.5%

Listed Building — Leeds (1,241 decided)

92.8%

Listed Building — Bradford (1,123 decided)

88.3%

Other — Leeds (2,871 decided)

77.2%

Other — Bradford (2,586 decided)

88.5%

Prior Approval — Bradford (3,213 decided)

64.9%

Trees — Leeds (6,010 decided)

96.6%

Trees — Bradford (2,474 decided)

53.6%

What the numbers mean

There is a 8.2 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Bradford 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 Bradford full data