Canterbury Council approves 95.1% of planning applications, based on 11,168 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Canterbury sits 6.5 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,945 decided applications, Canterbury Council approved 96.2% of planning applications in 2025. Across 11,168 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Canterbury is 95.1%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Canterbury council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Canterbury.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 4,663 | 403 | 5,066 | 92.0% |
| Other | 4,216 | 40 | 4,256 | 99.1% |
| Listed Building | 625 | 32 | 657 | 95.1% |
| Trees | 436 | 10 | 446 | 97.8% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 269 | 10 | 279 | 96.4% |
| Advertisement | 228 | 25 | 253 | 90.1% |
| Prior Approval | 179 | 11 | 190 | 94.2% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 4 | 17 | 21 | 19.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorrell | 1,059 | 54 | 1,113 | 95.1% |
| Westgate | 879 | 75 | 954 | 92.1% |
| Chartham And Stone Street | 782 | 48 | 830 | 94.2% |
| Barton | 789 | 36 | 825 | 95.6% |
| Nailbourne | 735 | 20 | 755 | 97.4% |
| Chestfield | 630 | 24 | 654 | 96.3% |
| Little Stour And Adisham | 633 | 19 | 652 | 97.1% |
| Heron | 601 | 44 | 645 | 93.2% |
| Sturry | 587 | 20 | 607 | 96.7% |
| Blean Forest | 517 | 22 | 539 | 95.9% |
| Seasalter | 489 | 45 | 534 | 91.6% |
| Wincheap | 476 | 20 | 496 | 96.0% |
| Herne And Broomfield | 426 | 19 | 445 | 95.7% |
| Reculver | 384 | 22 | 406 | 94.6% |
| Tankerton | 302 | 14 | 316 | 95.6% |
| St Stephens | 289 | 7 | 296 | 97.6% |
| Beltinge | 256 | 23 | 279 | 91.8% |
| Northgate | 241 | 11 | 252 | 95.6% |
| Swalecliffe | 196 | 8 | 204 | 96.1% |
| Greenhill | 173 | 8 | 181 | 95.6% |
| West Bay | 128 | 5 | 133 | 96.2% |
How Canterbury’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 2.4pp since 2021.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Canterbury council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| CA/26/01102 Blean Forest | T1-Ash, fell tree located adjacent to walls and pond. G1-Group of Ash trees, fel | Approved |
| CA/23/01296 Sturry | Two-storey detached dwelling with new vehicular access, following demolition of | Approved |
| CA/26/01205 Heron | Pine tree in rear garden, remove the two lowest stems on the left side; leaving | Approved |
| CA/26/01165 Little Stour And Adisham | T1) Holly - 4 metre reduction located to side of property. | Approved |
| CA/26/01148 Herne And Broomfield | Conifer located in the rear garden - fell. | Approved |
| CA/26/01149 Chestfield | T1-Oak tree, reduce 1 side of tree by up to 2 metres (30%) laterally growing ove | Approved |
| CA/26/01139 Little Stour And Adisham | T1 Euclayptus tree located in the back garden - fell. T2 Silver Birch tree locat | Approved |
| CA/26/01079 Barton | T.P.O No.5 of 1993 (G1) - Group of Sycamores - located in the lower rear garden. | Approved |
| CA/26/00945 Barton | Installation of dormer to rear elevation following the removal of existing timbe | Approved |
| CA/26/00801 Chartham And Stone Street | Application for Listed Building Consent for internal alterations including struc | 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 Canterbury's 11,168 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Canterbury's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
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Dig deeper into Canterbury'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 Canterbury. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 11,168 real decisions from Canterbury 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 Canterbury'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 11,168 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Canterbury is 95.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 11,168 planning decisions from Canterbury council. 10,620 were approved and 548 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Canterbury is 95.1%, 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 Canterbury? 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.