Cairngorms NP planning approval rate
Cairngorms NP council approved 91.0% of planning applications and refused 9.0%, based on 279 decisions analysed. Ranked 142nd out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
91.0%
overall approval rate
Planning in Cairngorms NP?
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 Cairngorms NP. 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 Cairngorms NP, mined from 279 proposal descriptions.
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Cairngorms NP. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Badenoch And Strathspey (153 decided)
92.2%
Aboyne, Upper Deeside And Donside (35 decided)
88.6%
Wards in Cairngorms NP
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Cairngorms NP, showing how the council decides real applications.
2025/0112/DET
Reconfiguration of two house plots to form three plots and erection of three hou · Badenoch And Strathspey · Thu 01 May 2025
2025/0034/DET
Residential development of 35no. units, formation of access road and SUDS · Badenoch And Strathspey · Tue 04 Feb 2025
2024/0005/DET
Erection of 6no. houses (3 blocks of semidetached) · Badenoch And Strathspey · Thu 21 Dec 2023
Showing 3 of 153 comparable decisions. See all 153 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Cairngorms NP, 1 in 11 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 Cairngorms NP
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Cairngorms NP →
Free. Based on 279 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Cairngorms NP
What is the planning approval rate in Cairngorms NP?
Based on 279 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Cairngorms NP approved 91.0% of applications and refused 9.0%. The council is ranked 142nd out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Cairngorms NP?
Cairngorms NP refuses 9.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 11. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 279 decided applications since 2020, 25 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Cairngorms NP have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Cairngorms NP are in Badenoch And Strathspey (92.2%), - (86.8%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Cairngorms NP?
The most common planning application types in Cairngorms NP are: Other (279 decisions, 91.0% approved).
How long does a planning application take in Cairngorms NP?
Most planning applications in Cairngorms NP are decided within 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments, the statutory targets set by central government. With 279 decisions analysed since 2020, Cairngorms NP processes approximately 46 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Cairngorms NP?
You can search planning applications in Cairngorms NP directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 279 historical decisions in Cairngorms NP to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Cairngorms NP calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Cairngorms NP'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.