Bedford planning approval rate
Bedford council approved 91.8% of planning applications and refused 8.2%, based on 183 decisions analysed. Ranked 164th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
91.8%
overall approval rate
Planning in Bedford?
Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Bedford. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Bedford, mined from 183 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Bedford. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Wards in Bedford
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Bedford, showing how the council decides real applications.
Change of existing gate and side panel to mesh fencing and installation of fenci · Castle & Newnham · Wed 05 Aug 2026
Single storey side extension · Harpur · Wed 05 Aug 2026
Erection of an outbuilding for use as a home office/games room. · Renhold & Ravensden · Wed 05 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Bedford, 1 in 12 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Bedford
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Bedford →
Free. Based on 183 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Bedford
What is the planning approval rate in Bedford?
Based on 183 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Bedford approved 91.8% of applications and refused 8.2%. The council is ranked 164th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Bedford?
Bedford refuses 8.2% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 12. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 183 decided applications since 2020, 15 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Bedford have the highest planning approval rates?
Approval rates in Bedford vary by ward, see the ward breakdown above for detailed figures for each area.
What types of planning application are most common in Bedford?
The most common planning application types in Bedford are: Full (72 decisions, 97.2% approved), Other (49, 83.7%), and Discharge of Conditions (29, 100.0%).
How long does a planning application take in Bedford?
Planning applications in Bedford take an average of 7.7 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 166 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is inside the 8-week statutory target for householder applications (the statutory targets are 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments). PlanningLens measures the actual time each application takes, not just the target. Bedford decides approximately 30 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Bedford?
You can search planning applications in Bedford directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 183 historical decisions in Bedford to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Bedford calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Bedford's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at
planninglens.co.uk/methodology.