Manchester vs Trafford — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Manchester and Trafford? A side-by-side comparison based on 26,031 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Manchester: 87.8%

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

Trafford: 87.3%

12,341 decisions · 10,771 approved · 1,570 refused · 33 wards

Overall approval rates

Manchester (13,690 decided)

87.8%

Trafford (12,341 decided)

87.3%

By application type

Advertisement — Manchester (690 decided)

79.9%

Advertisement — Trafford (365 decided)

72.3%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Manchester (654 decided)

80.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Trafford (1,246 decided)

86.1%

Change of Use — Manchester (632 decided)

91.9%

Change of Use — Trafford (77 decided)

87.0%

Discharge of Conditions — Manchester (4,397 decided)

84.9%

Discharge of Conditions — Trafford (404 decided)

78.5%

Full — Manchester (5,548 decided)

89.7%

Full — Trafford (9,176 decided)

88.9%

Listed Building — Manchester (561 decided)

97.5%

Listed Building — Trafford (128 decided)

89.1%

Other — Manchester (393 decided)

85.5%

Other — Trafford (808 decided)

83.8%

Prior Approval — Manchester (95 decided)

77.9%

Prior Approval — Trafford (130 decided)

75.4%

Trees — Manchester (720 decided)

96.8%

What the numbers mean

There is a 0.5 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Trafford 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 Trafford full data