Calderdale planning approval rate
Calderdale council approved 87.6% of planning applications and refused 12.4%, based on 13,536 decisions analysed. Ranked 76th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
87.6%
overall approval rate
13,536
Decisions analysed
11,858
Approved
1,678
Refused
22
Wards covered
Planning in Calderdale? 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 Calderdale. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
86.3%
95.6%
82.1%
91.4%
90.1%
83.6%
86.7%
93.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Calderdale, mined from 13,536 proposal descriptions.
88.9%
83.0%
88.9%
88.5%
81.0%
86.7%
93.3%
87.3%
85.9%
85.6%
73.2%
84.8%
92.2%
76.7%
89.2%
87.5%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Calderdale. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Calder
88.5%
Ryburn
81.5%
Skircoat
90.0%
Luddendenfoot
88.6%
Town
87.4%
Greetland And Stainland
84.9%
Northowram And Shelf
88.3%
Hipperholme And Lightcliffe
89.3%
Warley
82.7%
Todmorden
91.8%
Brighouse
93.1%
Elland
91.3%
Park
84.6%
Rastrick
89.4%
Sowerby Bridge
88.5%
Illingworth And Mixenden
86.1%
Ovenden
85.5%
Hebden Bridge And Todmorden East
82.9%
Halifax Town
96.4%
Wards in Calderdale
Calder
88.5% approval · 1,295 decisions
Ryburn
81.5% approval · 1,182 decisions
Skircoat
90.0% approval · 1,086 decisions
Luddendenfoot
88.6% approval · 1,035 decisions
Town
87.4% approval · 1,026 decisions
Greetland And Stainland
84.9% approval · 954 decisions
Northowram And Shelf
88.3% approval · 852 decisions
Hipperholme And Lightcliffe
89.3% approval · 812 decisions
Warley
82.7% approval · 747 decisions
Todmorden
91.8% approval · 655 decisions
Brighouse
93.1% approval · 652 decisions
Elland
91.3% approval · 606 decisions
Park
84.6% approval · 605 decisions
Rastrick
89.4% approval · 593 decisions
Sowerby Bridge
88.5% approval · 556 decisions
Illingworth And Mixenden
86.1% approval · 469 decisions
Ovenden
85.5% approval · 296 decisions
Hebden Bridge And Todmorden East
82.9% approval · 35 decisions
Halifax Town
96.4% approval · 28 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Calderdale, showing how the council decides real applications.
Convert basement to a separate flat · Sowerby Bridge · Fri 26 Jun 2026
Conversion of former Sunday School into nine apartments with parking. · Elland · Fri 26 Jun 2026
Single storey rear extension · Todmorden West · Thu 25 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Calderdale, 1 in 8 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 Calderdale
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Calderdale →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Calderdale
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 13,536 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Calderdale
What is the planning approval rate in Calderdale?
Based on 13,536 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Calderdale approved 87.6% of applications and refused 12.4%. The council is ranked 76th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Calderdale?
Calderdale refuses 12.4% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 8. That is close to the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 13,536 decided applications since 2020, 1,678 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Calderdale have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Calderdale are in Brighouse (93.1%), Todmorden (91.8%), and Elland (91.3%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Calderdale?
The most common planning application types in Calderdale are: Full (7,504 decisions, 86.3% approved), Trees (2,387, 95.6%), and Other (1,298, 82.1%).
How long does a planning application take in Calderdale?
Planning applications in Calderdale take an average of 13.7 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 13,331 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is slower than 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. Calderdale decides approximately 2,256 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Calderdale?
You can search planning applications in Calderdale directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 13,536 historical decisions in Calderdale to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Calderdale calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Calderdale'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.