York vs Cheltenham — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between York and Cheltenham? A side-by-side comparison based on 14,143 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

York: 85.7%

7,329 decisions · 6,279 approved · 1,050 refused · 21 wards

Cheltenham: 95.3%

6,814 decisions · 6,497 approved · 317 refused · 20 wards

Overall approval rates

York (7,329 decided)

85.7%

Cheltenham (6,814 decided)

95.3%

By application type

Advertisement — York (280 decided)

84.3%

Advertisement — Cheltenham (166 decided)

90.4%

Certificate of Lawfulness — York (357 decided)

86.8%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Cheltenham (31 decided)

0.0%

Change of Use — Cheltenham (64 decided)

95.3%

Discharge of Conditions — Cheltenham (208 decided)

95.7%

Full — York (2,370 decided)

75.7%

Full — Cheltenham (3,740 decided)

95.1%

Listed Building — York (634 decided)

90.4%

Listed Building — Cheltenham (791 decided)

96.7%

Other — York (2,174 decided)

89.8%

Other — Cheltenham (1,433 decided)

98.9%

Prior Approval — York (47 decided)

80.9%

Prior Approval — Cheltenham (18 decided)

0.0%

Trees — York (1,467 decided)

93.7%

Trees — Cheltenham (363 decided)

96.1%

What the numbers mean

There is a 9.6 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. York 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

York full data Cheltenham full data