Barnsley Council approves 89.3% of planning applications, based on 20,117 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Barnsley sits 4.3 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 929 decided applications, Barnsley Council approved 93.9% of planning applications in 2025. Across 20,117 decisions on record (June 2004 to March 2026), the overall approval rate in Barnsley is 89.3%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Barnsley council planning portal records · Data to 13 March 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report, based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Barnsley.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 22,158 | 2,458 | 24,616 | 90.0% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on, your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penistone East | 2,556 | 266 | 2,822 | 90.6% |
| Central | 1,606 | 138 | 1,744 | 92.1% |
| Penistone Ward, Penistone West | 1,475 | 174 | 1,649 | 89.4% |
| Dodworth | 1,118 | 127 | 1,245 | 89.8% |
| Darton East | 1,066 | 143 | 1,209 | 88.2% |
| Darton West | 1,034 | 105 | 1,139 | 90.8% |
| Hoyland Milton | 987 | 109 | 1,096 | 90.1% |
| Rockingham | 972 | 87 | 1,059 | 91.8% |
| North East | 903 | 116 | 1,019 | 88.6% |
| Old Town | 892 | 108 | 1,000 | 89.2% |
| Darfield | 852 | 112 | 964 | 88.4% |
| Royston | 801 | 119 | 920 | 87.1% |
| Wombwell | 841 | 73 | 914 | 92.0% |
| Worsbrough | 780 | 95 | 875 | 89.1% |
| Stairfoot | 793 | 58 | 851 | 93.2% |
| Cudworth | 721 | 89 | 810 | 89.0% |
| Monk Bretton | 736 | 73 | 809 | 91.0% |
| Dearne North | 705 | 73 | 778 | 90.6% |
| Penistone West | 615 | 95 | 710 | 86.6% |
| Dearne South | 615 | 61 | 676 | 91.0% |
| Kingstone | 483 | 104 | 587 | 82.3% |
| St Helens | 550 | 36 | 586 | 93.9% |
| Penistone East Ward, Penistone | 280 | 48 | 328 | 85.4% |
| Darton West, Old Town | 40 | 1 | 41 | 97.6% |
| Stairfoot Ward, Worsbrough | 28 | 3 | 31 | 90.3% |
Showing top 25 of 45 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Barnsley’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 1.3pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Barnsley council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/0033 Penistone West | Single storey front extension, 2 storey rear extension, demolition of detached s | Approved |
| 2025/1040 Worsbrough | Demolition of the existing bungalow to create additional car park spaces and sch | Approved |
| 2026/0015 Cudworth | Installation of air source heat pump to rear of the dwelling and retrospective a | Approved |
| 2026/0045 Kingstone | Erection of extension to existing detached garage and replacement of flat roof w | Approved |
| 2026/0111 Stairfoot | Erection of a single storey side extension and single storey rear extension (Law | Approved |
| 2025/0820 Royston | Change of use from dwellinghouse (Class C3) to 4 Child Children's Home (Class C2 | Refused |
| 2025/1036 Royston | Certificate of proposed lawful development for the change of use from dwellingho | Refused |
| 2025/1052 Royston | Certificate of proposed lawful development for the change of use from dwellingho | Approved |
| 2026/0064 Rockingham | Erection of a two storey side and two storey rear extension including raised pla | Approved |
| 2025/0016 Hoyland Milton | Change of use of public house to 7no. holiday lets, including demolition of part | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Barnsley's 20,117 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Barnsley's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Barnsley's planning statistics, by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Barnsley. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 20,117 real decisions from Barnsley council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Barnsley's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 20,117 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Barnsley is 89.3%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 20,117 planning decisions from Barnsley council. 17,970 were approved and 2,147 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, June 2004 to March 2026.
The average approval rate in Barnsley is 89.3%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.
Writing about planning in Barnsley? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.