Buckinghamshire Council approves 85.4% of planning applications, based on 25,814 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Buckinghamshire sits 2.9 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 5,068 decided applications, Buckinghamshire Council approved 81.4% of planning applications in 2025. Across 25,814 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Buckinghamshire is 85.4%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Buckinghamshire council planning portal records · Updated June 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 Buckinghamshire.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 13,111 | 2,068 | 15,179 | 86.4% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 2,265 | 642 | 2,907 | 77.9% |
| Trees | 2,521 | 179 | 2,700 | 93.4% |
| Prior Approval | 1,158 | 392 | 1,550 | 74.7% |
| Other | 950 | 254 | 1,204 | 78.9% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 1,047 | 98 | 1,145 | 91.4% |
| Listed Building | 695 | 109 | 804 | 86.4% |
| Advertisement | 296 | 29 | 325 | 91.1% |
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, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlow | 1,327 | 161 | 1,488 | 89.2% |
| Flackwell Heath and The Wooburns | 978 | 140 | 1,118 | 87.5% |
| Abbey | 799 | 117 | 916 | 87.2% |
| Ridgeway West | 726 | 177 | 903 | 80.4% |
| Chiltern Villages | 755 | 126 | 881 | 85.7% |
| Ridgeway East | 670 | 174 | 844 | 79.4% |
| Princes Risborough | 605 | 134 | 739 | 81.9% |
| Former Beaconsfield | 575 | 63 | 638 | 90.1% |
| Hazlemere | 572 | 60 | 632 | 90.5% |
| Penn, Tylers Green and Loudwater | 526 | 63 | 589 | 89.3% |
| Former Chalfont St Giles | 487 | 70 | 557 | 87.4% |
| Former Gerrards Cross | 480 | 76 | 556 | 86.3% |
| Former Penn Wood & Old Amersham | 439 | 55 | 494 | 88.9% |
| Terriers and Amersham Hill | 405 | 77 | 482 | 84.0% |
| Former Stoke Poges & Wexham | 373 | 99 | 472 | 79.0% |
| Former Chalfont St Peter | 382 | 51 | 433 | 88.2% |
| Former Denham | 348 | 70 | 418 | 83.3% |
| Former Little Chalfont & Amersham Common | 350 | 67 | 417 | 83.9% |
| Former Amersham and Chesham Bois | 356 | 39 | 395 | 90.1% |
| Former Chiltern Ridges | 317 | 61 | 378 | 83.9% |
| Totteridge and Bowerdean | 313 | 57 | 370 | 84.6% |
| Former Iver | 313 | 57 | 370 | 84.6% |
| Former Farnham Common & Burnham Beeches | 302 | 60 | 362 | 83.4% |
| Former Great Missenden | 305 | 49 | 354 | 86.2% |
| Former Chess Valley | 281 | 68 | 349 | 80.5% |
Showing top 25 of 124 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Buckinghamshire’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 6.7pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Buckinghamshire council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| PL/26/03634/PIP Quainton | Permission in principle for a minimum of one and a maximum of five dwellings | Approved |
| PL/26/03030/FA Wendover, Halton and Stoke Mandeville | Single storey front extension | Approved |
| PL/26/03031/FA Wendover, Halton and Stoke Mandeville | Proposed detached double garage | Approved |
| PL/26/02985/FA Marlow | Proposed ground rear, garage conversion, first floor rear and side extensions, f | Approved |
| PL/26/02970/FA Marlow | New front porch, single storey rear extension with balcony over, incorporating c | Approved |
| PL/26/02881/FA Aylesbury North West | Single storey front extension and associated internal alterations | Approved |
| PL/26/02814/FA Long Crendon | Erection of side porch extension | Approved |
| PL/26/02210/FA Long Crendon | Proposed single storey rear extension and alterations to existing store. | Approved |
| PL/26/01999/FA Amersham and Chesham Bois | Single storey side and rear extension | Approved |
| PL/26/02071/FA Marlow | Proposed garden summer house. | 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 Buckinghamshire's 25,814 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Buckinghamshire's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Buckinghamshire'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 Buckinghamshire. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 25,814 real decisions from Buckinghamshire 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 Buckinghamshire'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 25,814 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Buckinghamshire is 85.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 25,814 planning decisions from Buckinghamshire council. 22,043 were approved and 3,771 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Buckinghamshire is 85.4%, 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 Buckinghamshire? 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.