Cardiff planning approval rate
Cardiff council approved 82.4% of planning applications and refused 17.6%, based on 5,184 decisions analysed. Ranked 26th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
82.4%
overall approval rate
5,184
Decisions analysed
4,274
Approved
910
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%
39.6%
93.5%
98.5%
91.3%
94.3%
94.1%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Cardiff, mined from 5,184 proposal descriptions.
72.8%
68.7%
67.9%
84.0%
72.2%
72.1%
52.4%
77.1%
84.0%
80.0%
86.1%
78.1%
89.3%
84.6%
75.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Cardiff. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
CATHAYS
85.6%
WHITCHURCH AND TONGWYNLAIS
79.6%
CYNCOED
81.9%
LLANDAFF
81.8%
RHIWBINA
77.5%
HEATH
74.4%
PENYLAN
75.2%
PLASNEWYDD
78.8%
RIVERSIDE
78.1%
LLANISHEN
54.8%
GRANGETOWN
87.0%
BUTETOWN
86.2%
PONTPRENNAU AND OLD ST MELLONS
73.0%
LISVANE AND THORNHILL
94.9%
CANTON
81.1%
TROWBRIDGE
64.0%
PENTYRCH AND ST FAGANS
93.1%
SPLOTT
74.4%
RADYR AND MORGANSTOWN
75.7%
RUMNEY
68.3%
Wards in Cardiff
CATHAYS
85.6% approval · 348 decisions
WHITCHURCH AND TONGWYNLAIS
79.6% approval · 221 decisions
CYNCOED
81.9% approval · 182 decisions
LLANDAFF
81.8% approval · 176 decisions
RHIWBINA
77.5% approval · 173 decisions
HEATH
74.4% approval · 168 decisions
PENYLAN
75.2% approval · 165 decisions
PLASNEWYDD
78.8% approval · 165 decisions
RIVERSIDE
78.1% approval · 160 decisions
LLANISHEN
54.8% approval · 146 decisions
GRANGETOWN
87.0% approval · 131 decisions
BUTETOWN
86.2% approval · 116 decisions
PONTPRENNAU AND OLD ST MELLONS
73.0% approval · 100 decisions
LISVANE AND THORNHILL
94.9% approval · 98 decisions
CANTON
81.1% approval · 95 decisions
TROWBRIDGE
64.0% approval · 89 decisions
PENTYRCH AND ST FAGANS
93.1% approval · 87 decisions
SPLOTT
74.4% approval · 86 decisions
RADYR AND MORGANSTOWN
75.7% approval · 74 decisions
RUMNEY
68.3% approval · 63 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Cardiff, showing how the council decides real applications.
Ground floor rear extension and replacement of front rooflights · RHIWBINA · Fri 14 Aug 2026
First floor rear balcony and other associated works. · RIVERSIDE · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Installation of new ventilation duct to the rear of the property. · CATHAYS · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Cardiff, 1 in 6 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 5,184 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Cardiff
What is the planning approval rate in Cardiff?
Based on 5,184 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Cardiff approved 82.4% of applications and refused 17.6%. The council is ranked 26th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Cardiff?
Cardiff refuses 17.6% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 6. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 5,184 decided applications since 2020, 910 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 LISVANE AND THORNHILL (94.9%), PENTYRCH AND ST FAGANS (93.1%), and ADAMSDOWN (88.3%). 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 (2,128 decisions, 99.8% approved), Other (1,340, 39.6%), and Full (1,070, 93.5%).
How long does a planning application take in Cardiff?
Planning applications in Cardiff take an average of 11.7 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 692 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 864 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 5,184 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.