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Planning approval rates by council

Compare planning permission success rates across 305 councils, ranked by approval rate. Based on 3,787,774 real decisions.

Last updated: August 2026

305
Councils covered
3,787,774
Decisions analysed
2238
Postcodes mapped
5 yrs
Of data

All councils ranked by approval rate

#CouncilApproval rateDecisionsWards
1 Barking & Dagenham 71.7% 9,176 22
2 East Hertfordshire 73.6% 17,302 52
3 Uttlesford 74.3% 1,171 22
4 Harrow 75.9% 22,151 27
5 Maldon 75.9% 4,369 17
6 Brent 76.0% 32,963 48
7 Waltham Forest 76.2% 21,464 24
8 Caerphilly 78.2% 4,966 39
9 Greenwich 78.2% 23,270 47
10 Elmbridge 78.4% 73,618 56
11 Redbridge 78.6% 33,383 47
12 Bradford 79.2% 28,182 56
13 Havering 79.5% 24,197 48
14 Enfield 79.9% 31,740 97
15 Hillingdon 80.0% 30,835 44
16 Kingston 80.4% 24,776 45
17 Eastleigh 80.6% 25,022 44
18 Torbay 80.9% 5,670 16
19 Bromley 81.0% 36,167 54
20 Thurrock 81.0% 11,188 48
21 Croydon 81.3% 40,612 83
22 Stoke-on-Trent 81.6% 1,761 35
23 Barnet 81.7% 55,519 66
24 Oadby & Wigston 81.9% 2,302 10
25 Guildford 82.1% 18,185 21
26 Cardiff 82.4% 5,184 29
27 Gravesham 82.7% 1,673 17
28 Islington 82.8% 85,214 80
29 Selby 82.8% 6,033 25
30 Lewisham 82.9% 25,675 38
31 Slough 82.9% 17,879 24
32 Staffordshire Moorlands 83.2% 10,451 0
33 Leicester 83.3% 538 21
34 Maidstone 83.6% 1,843 21
35 Wyre 83.6% 718 23
36 Birmingham 83.8% 33,120 0
37 Coventry 83.9% 2,668 19
38 Brentwood 84.0% 12,129 17
39 Bassetlaw 84.1% 4,681 25
40 Sutton 84.1% 18,538 78
41 Windsor & Maidenhead 84.3% 7,868 20
42 Cheshire East 84.4% 15,157 52
43 Scarborough 84.4% 327 17
44 Blackpool 84.5% 748 21
45 Lambeth 84.5% 31,836 91
46 Lichfield 84.5% 2,991 22
47 Stafford 84.5% 4,619 23
48 Newham 84.8% 21,897 48
49 Gloucester 85.0% 4,331 18
50 Pembrokeshire 85.1% 29,449 158
51 Bexley 85.2% 21,547 57
52 Bolton 85.5% 4,833 27
53 Chelmsford 85.7% 505 0
54 Castle Point 85.8% 3,039 18
55 Swansea 85.8% 3,860 44
56 Woking 85.8% 7,909 11
57 Hart 85.9% 10,522 11
58 High Peak 86.1% 8,972 0
59 Merton 86.2% 18,193 67
60 Pendle 86.2% 3,531 30
61 Kirklees 86.3% 29,619 23
62 Spelthorne 86.3% 1,639 14
63 Dartmoor NPA 86.5% 4,350 4
64 Leeds 86.5% 45,799 33
65 Hackney 86.8% 21,378 48
66 Sevenoaks 86.8% 12,682 27
67 South Staffordshire 86.8% 1,644 20
68 Hastings 86.9% 6,153 31
69 South Gloucestershire 86.9% 15,946 39
70 Bristol 87.0% 25,848 34
71 Tameside 87.0% 4,428 20
72 Warrington 87.0% 11,184 23
73 Thanet 87.1% 27,008 23
74 Luton 87.3% 4,480 20
75 Calderdale 87.6% 13,752 22
76 Dartford 87.6% 7,865 28
77 Ealing 87.6% 70,047 78
78 New Forest 87.6% 9,442 22
79 Peterborough 87.6% 33,566 28
80 Richmond 87.6% 33,219 55
81 Wirral 87.6% 8,012 22
82 Flintshire 87.7% 14,350 53
83 Hertsmere 87.8% 4,144 17
84 Ceredigion 87.9% 37,514 41
85 Epsom & Ewell 87.9% 8,700 16
86 Hounslow 87.9% 73,101 111
87 Newark & Sherwood 88.0% 10,831 22
88 Sefton 88.0% 7,121 22
89 Glasgow 88.1% 39,889 23
90 Newport 88.2% 5,820 22
91 Trafford 88.2% 13,295 33
92 Isle of Wight 88.3% 14,720 59
93 Craven 88.5% 486 9
94 Portsmouth 88.5% 9,214 14
95 Wigan 88.5% 5,618 29
96 Gwynedd 88.6% 11,039 77
97 Liverpool 88.6% 48,035 104
98 Newry, Mourne and Down District Council 88.6% 12,427 0
99 Sunderland 88.6% 11,042 38
100 Haringey 88.7% 24,342 58
101 Reigate & Banstead 88.7% 14,206 17
102 North Yorkshire 88.9% 3,833 48
103 Tower Hamlets 88.9% 25,697 39
104 Fenland 89.0% 5,165 40
105 Burnley 89.1% 294 15
106 Southend-on-Sea 89.1% 1,683 17
107 East Riding of Yorkshire 89.3% 8,875 27
108 Rushcliffe 89.3% 7,992 30
109 Adur & Worthing 89.4% 35,644 27
110 Dudley 89.4% 13,082 56
111 Powys 89.4% 7,210 65
112 Kingston upon Hull 89.5% 6,486 21
113 Oldham 89.5% 7,388 20
114 West Berkshire 89.5% 1,247 24
115 South Hams 89.7% 156 11
116 Wakefield 89.7% 13,353 21
117 West Devon 89.7% 156 11
118 Brighton & Hove 89.8% 3,163 33
119 City of Edinburgh 89.8% 63,954 38
120 Warwick 89.8% 12,623 27
121 Chichester 89.9% 4,688 17
122 Barnsley 90.0% 24,616 46
123 Basildon 90.0% 1,648 14
124 Basingstoke & Deane 90.1% 11,751 18
125 York 90.1% 11,900 21
126 Chesterfield 90.2% 5,038 27
127 North East Derbyshire 90.2% 6,477 26
128 Surrey Heath 90.2% 5,111 17
129 Great Yarmouth 90.3% 2,675 0
130 New Forest National Park 90.3% 12,811 0
131 North Somerset 90.3% 20,178 36
132 Tonbridge & Malling 90.3% 8,694 35
133 Brecon Beacons National Park 90.4% 13,130 0
134 Tendring 90.4% 1,815 32
135 Bury 90.6% 6,057 18
136 East Hampshire 90.6% 9,776 25
137 Sheffield 90.6% 7,218 28
138 Tewkesbury 90.6% 7,106 22
139 East Cambridgeshire 90.7% 11,402 23
140 Southampton 90.7% 1,007 17
141 West Lothian 90.7% 13,706 10
142 Forest of Dean 90.8% 6,413 21
143 Westminster 90.8% 65,586 99
144 Exeter 90.9% 7,254 13
145 Merthyr Tydfil 90.9% 1,203 11
146 Cairngorms NP 91.0% 279 6
147 Babergh Mid Suffolk 91.2% 19,354 54
148 Horsham 91.2% 13,181 22
149 Northumberland 91.2% 627 38
150 Rutland 91.2% 21,647 20
151 Stroud 91.2% 9,985 27
152 Lake District NPA 91.3% 32,107 178
153 Swale 91.3% 1,693 23
154 Harborough 91.4% 3,940 19
155 Lewes & Eastbourne 91.4% 2,308 18
156 Test Valley 91.4% 6,063 27
157 Fife 91.5% 6,313 24
158 Oxford 91.5% 6,203 31
159 Rossendale 91.5% 646 12
160 Watford 91.5% 4,940 13
161 Wiltshire 91.5% 210,657 324
162 BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) 91.6% 498 30
163 Hinckley & Bosworth 91.7% 3,999 16
164 Bedford 91.8% 183 20
165 Cheshire West & Chester 91.9% 17,272 49
166 Doncaster 91.9% 12,357 23
167 King's Lynn & West Norfolk 91.9% 2,655 34
168 Lancaster 91.9% 4,802 61
169 Exmoor NPA 92.0% 1,826 0
170 Pembrokeshire Coast National Park 92.0% 6,942 53
171 Solihull 92.0% 5,829 23
172 Hammersmith & Fulham 92.2% 19,579 63
173 Three Rivers 92.2% 3,823 29
174 Cannock Chase 92.3% 5,397 52
175 Middlesbrough 92.3% 18,777 22
176 Gedling 92.4% 4,473 19
177 Telford & Wrekin 92.4% 15,050 47
178 Torfaen 92.4% 4,898 25
179 Kensington & Chelsea 92.5% 33,223 37
180 Stockport 92.5% 455 21
181 Darlington 92.6% 3,317 20
182 Norwich 92.7% 8,590 14
183 Rotherham 92.7% 2,503 25
184 Westmorland and Furness 92.7% 52,290 54
185 Derby 92.8% 4,739 25
186 Derbyshire Dales 92.8% 4,637 22
187 Dorset 92.8% 25,048 57
188 Rhondda Cynon Taf 92.9% 5,234 72
189 South Holland 92.9% 1,559 0
190 Cambridge 93.0% 8,530 43
191 Cornwall 93.0% 24,970 185
192 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council 93.1% 6,397 0
193 Erewash 93.1% 3,710 0
194 Plymouth 93.1% 7,239 20
195 Chorley 93.2% 4,374 30
196 Dover 93.2% 6,755 28
197 South Downs 93.2% 10,988 73
198 Bath & NE Somerset 93.3% 36,813 41
199 Bromsgrove & Redditch 93.3% 2,420 46
200 Newcastle upon Tyne 93.3% 12,335 44
201 South Kesteven 93.3% 9,588 31
202 Torridge 93.3% 8,419 24
203 Wandsworth 93.3% 28,083 76
204 Arun 93.4% 3,412 0
205 Camden 93.4% 25,921 89
206 Sandwell 93.4% 7,027 31
207 Blaby 93.5% 3,273 31
208 Southwark 93.5% 30,483 72
209 West Northamptonshire 93.5% 260 23
210 Gateshead 93.6% 7,467 22
211 Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council 93.6% 7,589 0
212 West Suffolk 93.6% 40,184 48
213 Broadland 93.7% 7,405 53
214 North Hertfordshire 93.7% 2,124 25
215 Newcastle-under-Lyme 93.8% 1,184 21
216 North East Lincolnshire 93.8% 3,322 15
217 North Northamptonshire 93.8% 5,317 35
218 Mid Sussex 93.9% 8,785 28
219 Mid and East Antrim Borough Council 93.9% 7,142 0
220 North West Leicestershire 94.0% 2,020 38
221 Rugby 94.0% 13,912 28
222 Stevenage 94.0% 3,927 14
223 Aberdeen 94.2% 21,912 14
224 Belfast City Council 94.2% 13,582 0
225 Dundee 94.2% 10,603 8
226 Midlothian 94.2% 1,391 6
227 Redcar and Cleveland 94.2% 11,386 0
228 Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council 94.3% 9,684 0
229 Huntingdonshire 94.3% 5,132 32
230 Nottingham 94.3% 7,376 23
231 Perth & Kinross 94.3% 22,618 12
232 Knowsley 94.4% 4,478 15
233 Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park 94.4% 8,002 9
234 Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council 94.5% 10,265 0
235 East Ayrshire 94.5% 1,609 9
236 East Lindsey 94.5% 7,212 37
237 North Tyneside 94.5% 6,277 34
238 North York Moors 94.5% 3,130 0
239 West Oxfordshire 94.5% 7,591 27
240 Broxtowe 94.6% 5,290 25
241 West Lancashire 94.6% 6,990 40
242 Blaenau Gwent 94.8% 288 14
243 Broads Authority 94.8% 2,400 40
244 North Norfolk 94.8% 2,728 32
245 County Durham 94.9% 15,557 113
246 Highland 94.9% 2,828 21
247 Winchester 94.9% 7,039 16
248 Swindon 95.0% 4,587 52
249 Canterbury 95.1% 11,168 21
250 South Norfolk 95.1% 7,256 53
251 Stockton-on-Tees 95.1% 2,614 30
252 Bolsover 95.2% 2,167 17
253 Hartlepool 95.2% 3,502 0
254 Lincoln 95.2% 7,069 11
255 Melton 95.3% 3,918 16
256 South Ayrshire 95.3% 1,182 8
257 Stirling 95.3% 12,434 7
258 Neath Port Talbot 95.4% 26,607 43
259 South Ribble 95.4% 4,384 23
260 South Tyneside 95.4% 3,258 0
261 Cotswold 95.6% 24,466 32
262 Aberdeenshire 95.8% 2,938 19
263 Argyll & Bute 95.9% 4,552 12
264 Cheltenham 96.0% 14,267 20
265 Hambleton 96.0% 4,825 45
266 Orkney 96.0% 7,933 6
267 Angus 96.1% 14,114 11
268 Teignbridge 96.1% 127 12
269 East Dunbartonshire 96.2% 1,206 7
270 Fermanagh and Omagh District Council 96.4% 8,576 0
271 Halton 96.4% 2,278 22
272 Renfrewshire 96.4% 3,761 12
273 Inverclyde 96.6% 1,098 7
274 Rushmoor 96.8% 4,465 14
275 South Lanarkshire 96.8% 26,323 20
276 Ards and North Down Borough Council 97.0% 7,954 0
277 OPDC 97.1% 1,284 7
278 Derry City and Strabane District Council 97.3% 7,298 0
279 Gosport 97.3% 1,751 23
280 Dumfries & Galloway 97.4% 23,400 13
281 Monmouthshire 97.4% 2,401 43
282 Carlisle 97.5% 5,082 39
283 North Kesteven 97.5% 719 23
284 Clackmannanshire 97.9% 1,074 5
285 Harlow 97.9% 2,663 24
286 Moray 97.9% 1,565 8
287 North Ayrshire 98.1% 1,370 14
288 Shetland 98.3% 9,031 16
289 LLDC 98.6% 3,226 4
290 Mid Devon 98.7% 6,223 46
291 Somerset 98.7% 553 4
292 City of London 98.8% 10,621 51
293 Mansfield 98.9% 3,180 38
294 Mid Ulster District Council 98.9% 3,064 41
295 Western Isles 98.9% 1,951 17
296 Fareham 99.0% 2,934 0
297 Falkirk 99.2% 1,035 9
298 Staffordshire 99.4% 1,891 32
299 Dacorum 99.6% 2,049 25
300 North Lanarkshire 99.8% 808 21
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