Canterbury Council approves 93.6% of planning applications, based on 7,140 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Canterbury sits 8.6 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,958 decided applications, Canterbury Council approved 96.2% of planning applications in 2025. Across 7,140 decisions on record (March 2021 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Canterbury is 93.6%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Canterbury council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 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 Canterbury.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 4,750 | 404 | 5,154 | 92.2% |
| Other | 4,316 | 41 | 4,357 | 99.1% |
| Listed Building | 647 | 33 | 680 | 95.1% |
| Trees | 443 | 10 | 453 | 97.8% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 272 | 10 | 282 | 96.5% |
| Advertisement | 229 | 25 | 254 | 90.2% |
| Prior Approval | 181 | 11 | 192 | 94.3% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 93 | 18 | 111 | 83.8% |
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 | 1,090 | 54 | 1,144 | 95.3% |
| Westgate | 906 | 75 | 981 | 92.4% |
| Chartham And Stone Street | 808 | 48 | 856 | 94.4% |
| Barton | 803 | 38 | 841 | 95.5% |
| Nailbourne | 756 | 20 | 776 | 97.4% |
| Little Stour And Adisham | 654 | 19 | 673 | 97.2% |
| Chestfield | 644 | 24 | 668 | 96.4% |
| Heron | 615 | 44 | 659 | 93.3% |
| Sturry | 609 | 20 | 629 | 96.8% |
| Seasalter | 517 | 45 | 562 | 92.0% |
| Blean Forest | 532 | 22 | 554 | 96.0% |
| Wincheap | 492 | 20 | 512 | 96.1% |
| Herne And Broomfield | 430 | 19 | 449 | 95.8% |
| Reculver | 394 | 22 | 416 | 94.7% |
| Tankerton | 304 | 15 | 319 | 95.3% |
| St Stephens | 301 | 8 | 309 | 97.4% |
| Beltinge | 266 | 23 | 289 | 92.0% |
| Northgate | 250 | 11 | 261 | 95.8% |
| Swalecliffe | 203 | 8 | 211 | 96.2% |
| Greenhill | 178 | 8 | 186 | 95.7% |
| West Bay | 131 | 5 | 136 | 96.3% |
How Canterbury’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 2.6pp 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/26/01257 St Stephens | Application for lawful development certificate for existing use of dwelling as H | Refused |
| CA/26/01249 Westgate | Application for Listed Building Consent for external alterations including 1 non | Approved |
| CA/26/01129 Westgate | Replacement of brick wall with timber fence, replacement of gate together with r | Approved |
| CA/26/00738 Chartham And Stone Street | Single-storey detached building. | Approved |
| CA/26/00279 Gorrell | Outline Application with all matters reserved except access for 1 dwelling. | Approved |
| CA/25/02054 Herne And Broomfield | Single-storey rear extension. | Approved |
| CA/26/01270 St Stephens | Change of use from House of Multiple Occupancy to dwelling. | Approved |
| CA/26/01244 Chartham And Stone Street | Erection of single-storey detached garage together with stand alone solar panels | Approved |
| CA/26/01126 Beltinge | Proposed first-floor rear and roof extension with juliet balcony and rooflights, | Approved |
| CA/26/01100 Heron | Detached single-storey annexe following demolition of existing outbuilding. | 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 7,140 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Canterbury's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
More council comparisons coming soon.
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 7,140 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 7,140 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Canterbury is 93.6%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 7,140 planning decisions from Canterbury council. 6,681 were approved and 459 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, March 2021 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Canterbury is 93.6%, 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.