Manchester vs Sevenoaks — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Manchester and Sevenoaks? A side-by-side comparison based on 26,362 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Manchester: 87.8%

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

Sevenoaks: 86.8%

12,672 decisions · 10,993 approved · 1,679 refused · 27 wards

Overall approval rates

Manchester (13,690 decided)

87.8%

Sevenoaks (12,672 decided)

86.8%

By application type

Advertisement — Manchester (690 decided)

79.9%

Advertisement — Sevenoaks (84 decided)

89.3%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Manchester (654 decided)

80.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Sevenoaks (922 decided)

74.1%

Change of Use — Manchester (632 decided)

91.9%

Change of Use — Sevenoaks (71 decided)

69.0%

Discharge of Conditions — Manchester (4,397 decided)

84.9%

Discharge of Conditions — Sevenoaks (142 decided)

82.4%

Full — Manchester (5,548 decided)

89.7%

Full — Sevenoaks (5,255 decided)

83.3%

Listed Building — Manchester (561 decided)

97.5%

Listed Building — Sevenoaks (510 decided)

85.1%

Other — Manchester (393 decided)

85.5%

Other — Sevenoaks (3,341 decided)

90.3%

Prior Approval — Manchester (95 decided)

77.9%

Prior Approval — Sevenoaks (129 decided)

86.8%

Trees — Manchester (720 decided)

96.8%

Trees — Sevenoaks (2,218 decided)

96.1%

What the numbers mean

There is a 1.0 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Sevenoaks 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.

Planning in your area? Don't rely on the average.

Council averages only tell part of the story — approval rates vary dramatically by ward and street.

Get your property-specific risk — free →

See detailed data

Manchester full data Sevenoaks full data