Bradford Council approves 78.8% of planning applications, based on 26,787 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Bradford sits 9.1 percentage points below the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 Bradford.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 12,096 | 2,568 | 14,664 | 82.5% |
| Prior Approval | 2,311 | 1,128 | 3,439 | 67.2% |
| Other | 2,535 | 300 | 2,835 | 89.4% |
| Trees | 1,327 | 1,149 | 2,476 | 53.6% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 1,144 | 256 | 1,400 | 81.7% |
| Listed Building | 992 | 131 | 1,123 | 88.3% |
| Advertisement | 389 | 120 | 509 | 76.4% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 304 | 37 | 341 | 89.1% |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilkley (ward 14) | 1,888 | 799 | 2,687 | 70.3% |
| City (ward 07) | 1,165 | 280 | 1,445 | 80.6% |
| Wharfedale (ward 26) | 1,119 | 222 | 1,341 | 83.4% |
| Craven (ward 09) | 1,043 | 273 | 1,316 | 79.3% |
| Heaton (ward 12) | 1,000 | 281 | 1,281 | 78.1% |
| Worth Valley (ward 29) | 800 | 342 | 1,142 | 70.1% |
| Bingley (ward 02) | 804 | 305 | 1,109 | 72.5% |
| Shipley (ward 22) | 879 | 177 | 1,056 | 83.2% |
| Bingley Rural (ward 03) | 817 | 210 | 1,027 | 79.6% |
| Baildon (ward 01) | 717 | 238 | 955 | 75.1% |
| Thornton And Allerton (ward 23) | 731 | 166 | 897 | 81.5% |
| Great Horton (ward 11) | 710 | 147 | 857 | 82.8% |
| Keighley East (ward 16) | 658 | 187 | 845 | 77.9% |
| Idle And Thackley (ward 13) | 637 | 163 | 800 | 79.6% |
| Bolton And Undercliffe (ward 04) | 648 | 148 | 796 | 81.4% |
| Keighley Central (ward 15) | 634 | 150 | 784 | 80.9% |
| Bradford Moor (ward 06) | 633 | 122 | 755 | 83.8% |
| Bowling And Barkerend (ward 05) | 624 | 124 | 748 | 83.4% |
| Toller (ward 24) | 620 | 121 | 741 | 83.7% |
| Clayton And Fairweather Green (ward 08) | 576 | 157 | 733 | 78.6% |
| Eccleshill (ward 10) | 559 | 120 | 679 | 82.3% |
| Queensbury (ward 20) | 532 | 142 | 674 | 78.9% |
| Little Horton (ward 18) | 520 | 88 | 608 | 85.5% |
| Manningham (ward 19) | 423 | 180 | 603 | 70.1% |
| Wibsey (ward 27) | 468 | 105 | 573 | 81.7% |
Showing top 25 of 30 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →Real residential planning decisions from Bradford council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00253/PNH Toller (ward 24) | Construction of single storey rear extension of the following dimensions:Depth o | Approved |
| 26/00367/PIP Wharfedale (ward 26) | Construction of four self-build dwellings | Refused |
| 26/00234/PNH Queensbury (ward 20) | Construction of single storey rear extension of the following dimensions:Depth o | Approved |
| 26/00124/PNH Bolton And Undercliffe (ward 04) | Construction of single storey rear extension of the following dimensions:Depth o | Approved |
| 25/04769/LBC Thornton And Allerton (ward 23) | Rebuilding of the front external elevation and associated structural stabilisati | Refused |
| 26/00051/TPO Worth Valley (ward 29) | T1 Beech - Prune to give a 3m clearance from the dwelling of 29 Longacre Lane. | Approved |
| 25/04254/HOU Eccleshill (ward 10) | First floor extension; two storey side extension; single storey rear extension; | Approved |
| 25/03441/FUL Royds (ward 21) | Change of use of existing property to F1 use (Learning and non-residential insti | Approved |
| 26/00144/PNH Bowling And Barkerend (ward 05) | Construction of single storey rear extension of the following dimensions:Depth o | Approved |
| 26/00152/PNH City (ward 07) | Construction of single storey rear extension of the following dimensions:Depth o | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Bradford's 26,787 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
Get My Pro Report — £79Compare Bradford's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Bradford's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 26,787 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Bradford is 78.8%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 26,787 planning decisions from Bradford council. 21,098 were approved and 5,689 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Bradford is 78.8%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.