Canterbury planning approval rate
Canterbury council approved 95.0% of planning applications and refused 5.0%, based on 10,849 decisions analysed. Ranked 235th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
95.0%
overall approval rate
10,849
Decisions analysed
10,309
Approved
540
Refused
21
Wards covered
Planning in Canterbury? 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 Canterbury. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
91.9%
99.1%
94.9%
97.7%
96.2%
90.1%
94.1%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Canterbury, mined from 10,849 proposal descriptions.
96.2%
94.2%
97.2%
93.6%
94.7%
98.4%
94.2%
98.4%
91.3%
95.7%
86.3%
95.8%
94.3%
83.3%
89.7%
80.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Canterbury. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Gorrell
95.1%
Westgate
92.1%
Chartham And Stone Street
94.2%
Barton
95.5%
Nailbourne
97.3%
Chestfield
96.2%
Heron
92.9%
Little Stour And Adisham
97.1%
Sturry
96.6%
Blean Forest
95.8%
Seasalter
91.5%
Wincheap
95.9%
Herne And Broomfield
95.7%
Reculver
94.7%
Tankerton
95.5%
St Stephens
97.6%
Beltinge
91.5%
Northgate
95.6%
Swalecliffe
96.0%
Greenhill
95.5%
Wards in Canterbury
Gorrell
95.1% approval · 1,082 decisions
Westgate
92.1% approval · 915 decisions
Chartham And Stone Street
94.2% approval · 811 decisions
Barton
95.5% approval · 797 decisions
Nailbourne
97.3% approval · 733 decisions
Chestfield
96.2% approval · 640 decisions
Heron
92.9% approval · 623 decisions
Little Stour And Adisham
97.1% approval · 621 decisions
Sturry
96.6% approval · 592 decisions
Blean Forest
95.8% approval · 522 decisions
Seasalter
91.5% approval · 520 decisions
Wincheap
95.9% approval · 482 decisions
Herne And Broomfield
95.7% approval · 439 decisions
Reculver
94.7% approval · 396 decisions
Tankerton
95.5% approval · 309 decisions
St Stephens
97.6% approval · 286 decisions
Beltinge
91.5% approval · 271 decisions
Northgate
95.6% approval · 248 decisions
Swalecliffe
96.0% approval · 202 decisions
Greenhill
95.5% approval · 179 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Canterbury, showing how the council decides real applications.
Application for Listed Building Consent for external and internal alterations in · Westgate · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Erection of external fire staircase along with replacement of timber window to a · Westgate · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Single-storey classroom block following demolition of the existing classroom blo · Little Stour And Adisham · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Canterbury, 1 in 20 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 Canterbury
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Canterbury →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Canterbury
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 10,849 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Canterbury
What is the planning approval rate in Canterbury?
Based on 10,849 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Canterbury approved 95.0% of applications and refused 5.0%. The council is ranked 235th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Canterbury?
Canterbury refuses 5.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 20. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 10,849 decided applications since 2020, 540 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Canterbury have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Canterbury are in St Stephens (97.6%), Nailbourne (97.3%), and Little Stour And Adisham (97.1%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Canterbury?
The most common planning application types in Canterbury are: Full (4,932 decisions, 91.9% approved), Other (4,137, 99.1%), and Listed Building (624, 94.9%).
How long does a planning application take in Canterbury?
Planning applications in Canterbury take an average of 10.8 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 10,806 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. Canterbury decides approximately 1,808 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Canterbury?
You can search planning applications in Canterbury directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 10,849 historical decisions in Canterbury to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Canterbury calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Canterbury'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.