Manchester vs Bexley — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Manchester and Bexley? A side-by-side comparison based on 26,516 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Manchester: 87.8%

13,690 decisions · 12,025 approved · 1,665 refused · 32 wards

Bexley: 80.9%

12,826 decisions · 10,375 approved · 2,451 refused · 18 wards

Overall approval rates

Manchester (13,690 decided)

87.8%

Bexley (12,826 decided)

80.9%

By application type

Advertisement — Manchester (690 decided)

79.9%

Advertisement — Bexley (165 decided)

95.8%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Manchester (654 decided)

80.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Bexley (1,781 decided)

82.9%

Change of Use — Manchester (632 decided)

91.9%

Discharge of Conditions — Manchester (4,397 decided)

84.9%

Discharge of Conditions — Bexley (1,294 decided)

89.0%

Full — Manchester (5,548 decided)

89.7%

Listed Building — Manchester (561 decided)

97.5%

Listed Building — Bexley (23 decided)

78.3%

Other — Manchester (393 decided)

85.5%

Other — Bexley (9,132 decided)

79.5%

Prior Approval — Manchester (95 decided)

77.9%

Prior Approval — Bexley (115 decided)

51.3%

Trees — Manchester (720 decided)

96.8%

Trees — Bexley (316 decided)

79.4%

What the numbers mean

There is a 6.9 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Bexley 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

Manchester full data Bexley full data