Cardiff planning approval rate
Cardiff council approved 81.7% of planning applications and refused 18.3%, based on 4,803 decisions analysed. Ranked 22nd out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
81.7%
overall approval rate
4,803
Decisions analysed
3,926
Approved
877
Refused
29
Wards covered
Planning in Cardiff? 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 Cardiff. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
99.8%
38.4%
94.7%
98.9%
97.6%
90.0%
94.1%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Cardiff, mined from 4,803 proposal descriptions.
67.9%
66.9%
66.6%
85.6%
70.2%
49.4%
65.6%
77.8%
84.1%
82.8%
78.6%
88.5%
83.3%
71.4%
77.8%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Cardiff. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
CATHAYS
85.3%
WHITCHURCH AND TONGWYNLAIS
78.4%
CYNCOED
81.4%
PENYLAN
73.5%
LLANDAFF
79.6%
RHIWBINA
75.5%
HEATH
72.7%
PLASNEWYDD
76.1%
RIVERSIDE
75.4%
LLANISHEN
51.8%
GRANGETOWN
85.2%
BUTETOWN
85.3%
PONTPRENNAU AND OLD ST MELLONS
72.0%
CANTON
78.0%
LISVANE AND THORNHILL
95.1%
SPLOTT
74.4%
TROWBRIDGE
59.7%
RADYR AND MORGANSTOWN
75.4%
PENTYRCH AND ST FAGANS
95.5%
ADAMSDOWN
87.7%
Wards in Cardiff
CATHAYS
85.3% approval · 292 decisions
WHITCHURCH AND TONGWYNLAIS
78.4% approval · 204 decisions
CYNCOED
81.4% approval · 161 decisions
PENYLAN
73.5% approval · 155 decisions
LLANDAFF
79.6% approval · 152 decisions
RHIWBINA
75.5% approval · 151 decisions
HEATH
72.7% approval · 143 decisions
PLASNEWYDD
76.1% approval · 142 decisions
RIVERSIDE
75.4% approval · 138 decisions
LLANISHEN
51.8% approval · 137 decisions
GRANGETOWN
85.2% approval · 115 decisions
BUTETOWN
85.3% approval · 109 decisions
PONTPRENNAU AND OLD ST MELLONS
72.0% approval · 93 decisions
CANTON
78.0% approval · 82 decisions
LISVANE AND THORNHILL
95.1% approval · 81 decisions
SPLOTT
74.4% approval · 78 decisions
TROWBRIDGE
59.7% approval · 77 decisions
RADYR AND MORGANSTOWN
75.4% approval · 69 decisions
PENTYRCH AND ST FAGANS
95.5% approval · 67 decisions
ADAMSDOWN
87.7% approval · 57 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Cardiff, showing how the council decides real applications.
Fell 2no Eucalyptus in rear garden. · LLANDAFF · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Mature Copper Beech (T1) in rear garden of 30 Park Place - works as per submitte · CATHAYS · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Oak; front garden.- Reduce limbs to suitable growth points growing towards No13 · LISVANE AND THORNHILL · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Cardiff, 1 in 5 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 Cardiff
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Cardiff →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Cardiff
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 4,803 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Cardiff
What is the planning approval rate in Cardiff?
Based on 4,803 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Cardiff approved 81.7% of applications and refused 18.3%. The council is ranked 22nd out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Cardiff?
Cardiff refuses 18.3% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 5. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 4,803 decided applications since 2020, 877 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Cardiff have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Cardiff are in PENTYRCH AND ST FAGANS (95.5%), LISVANE AND THORNHILL (95.1%), and ADAMSDOWN (87.7%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Cardiff?
The most common planning application types in Cardiff are: Trees (2,105 decisions, 99.8% approved), Other (1,312, 38.4%), and Full (843, 94.7%).
How long does a planning application take in Cardiff?
Planning applications in Cardiff take an average of 10.7 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 301 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. Cardiff decides approximately 800 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Cardiff?
You can search planning applications in Cardiff directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 4,803 historical decisions in Cardiff to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Cardiff calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Cardiff'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.