Cardiff Council approves 82.4% of planning applications, based on 5,184 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Cardiff sits 6.2 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 350 decided applications, Cardiff Council approved 82.9% of planning applications in 2025. Across 5,184 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Cardiff is 82.4%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Cardiff council planning portal records · Updated August 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 Cardiff.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trees | 2,124 | 4 | 2,128 | 99.8% |
| Other | 531 | 809 | 1,340 | 39.6% |
| Full | 1,000 | 70 | 1,070 | 93.5% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 319 | 16 | 335 | 95.2% |
| Advertisement | 193 | 3 | 196 | 98.5% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 42 | 4 | 46 | 91.3% |
| Prior Approval | 33 | 2 | 35 | 94.3% |
| Listed Building | 32 | 2 | 34 | 94.1% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathays | 298 | 50 | 348 | 85.6% |
| Whitchurch And Tongwynlais | 176 | 45 | 221 | 79.6% |
| Cyncoed | 149 | 33 | 182 | 81.9% |
| Llandaff | 144 | 32 | 176 | 81.8% |
| Rhiwbina | 134 | 39 | 173 | 77.5% |
| Heath | 125 | 43 | 168 | 74.4% |
| Penylan | 124 | 41 | 165 | 75.2% |
| Plasnewydd | 130 | 35 | 165 | 78.8% |
| Riverside | 125 | 35 | 160 | 78.1% |
| Llanishen | 80 | 66 | 146 | 54.8% |
| Grangetown | 114 | 17 | 131 | 87.0% |
| Butetown | 100 | 16 | 116 | 86.2% |
| Pontprennau And Old St Mellons | 73 | 27 | 100 | 73.0% |
| Lisvane And Thornhill | 93 | 5 | 98 | 94.9% |
| Canton | 77 | 18 | 95 | 81.1% |
| Trowbridge | 57 | 32 | 89 | 64.0% |
| Pentyrch And St Fagans | 81 | 6 | 87 | 93.1% |
| Splott | 64 | 22 | 86 | 74.4% |
| Radyr And Morganstown | 56 | 18 | 74 | 75.7% |
| Rumney | 43 | 20 | 63 | 68.3% |
| Adamsdown | 53 | 7 | 60 | 88.3% |
| Fairwater | 40 | 16 | 56 | 71.4% |
| Pentwyn | 31 | 24 | 55 | 56.4% |
| Creigiau And St Fagans | 33 | 17 | 50 | 66.0% |
| Gabalfa | 29 | 15 | 44 | 65.9% |
Showing top 25 of 29 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Cardiff’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 6.3pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Cardiff council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/01697/CLPUD Rhiwbina | Ground floor rear extension and replacement of front rooflights | Approved |
| 26/01290/HSE Riverside | First floor rear balcony and other associated works. | Approved |
| 26/00894/FUL Cathays | Installation of new ventilation duct to the rear of the property. | Approved |
| 26/00898/FUL Cathays | Demolition and partial reduction of rear extension; erection of rear dormer roof | Approved |
| 25/02373/FUL Riverside | Change of use and sub-division of public house (A3) to create restaurant (A3) an | Approved |
| 26/01693/CLPUD Rumney | Hip to gable roof extension, rear dormer roof extension and addition of roof lig | Approved |
| 26/01688/CLPUD Cyncoed | Hip-to-gable roof extension, rear dormer roof extension and addition of front ro | Approved |
| 26/01634/CLPUD Llandaff North | Internal remodelling and ground floor alterations to side and rear elevations | Approved |
| 26/01602/CLPUD Gabalfa | Demolition of conservatory and construction of ground floor rear extension with | Approved |
| 26/01596/CLPUD Whitchurch And Tongwynlais | Hip to gable roof extension, rear dormer roof extension and addition of roofligh | 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 Cardiff's 5,184 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Cardiff's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Cardiff'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 Cardiff. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 5,184 real decisions from Cardiff 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 Cardiff'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 5,184 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Cardiff is 82.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 5,184 planning decisions from Cardiff council. 4,274 were approved and 910 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Cardiff is 82.4%, 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 Cardiff? 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.