Birmingham planning approval rate
Birmingham council approved 83.8% of planning applications and refused 16.2%, based on 33,120 decisions analysed. Ranked 35th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
83.8%
overall approval rate
Planning in Birmingham?
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 Birmingham. 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 Birmingham, mined from 33,120 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Birmingham. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Wards in Birmingham
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Birmingham, showing how the council decides real applications.
Application for a lawful development certificate for a proposed loft conversion · · 2026-06-04
Erection of 6 metre deep single storey rear extension. Maximum height 3.7 metres · · 2026-06-04
Application for a lawful development certificate for a proposed single storey re · · 2026-05-22
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Birmingham, 1 in 6 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 Birmingham
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Birmingham →
Free. Based on 33,120 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Birmingham
What is the planning approval rate in Birmingham?
Based on 33,120 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Birmingham approved 83.8% of applications and refused 16.2%. The council is ranked 35th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Birmingham?
Birmingham refuses 16.2% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 6. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 33,120 decided applications since 2020, 5,352 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Birmingham have the highest planning approval rates?
Approval rates in Birmingham vary by ward, see the ward breakdown above for detailed figures for each area.
What types of planning application are most common in Birmingham?
The most common planning application types in Birmingham are: Other (33,120 decisions, 83.8% approved).
How long does a planning application take in Birmingham?
Most planning applications in Birmingham are decided within 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments, the statutory targets set by central government. With 33,120 decisions analysed since 2020, Birmingham processes approximately 5,520 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Birmingham?
You can search planning applications in Birmingham directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 33,120 historical decisions in Birmingham to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Birmingham calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Birmingham'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.