Cardiff Council approves 81.7% of planning applications, based on 4,803 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Cardiff sits 6.6 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 356 decided applications, Cardiff Council approved 83.1% of planning applications in 2025. Across 4,803 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Cardiff is 81.7%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Cardiff council planning portal records · Updated June 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 | 2,101 | 4 | 2,105 | 99.8% |
| Other | 504 | 808 | 1,312 | 38.4% |
| Full | 798 | 45 | 843 | 94.7% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 265 | 13 | 278 | 95.3% |
| Advertisement | 175 | 2 | 177 | 98.9% |
| Prior Approval | 40 | 1 | 41 | 97.6% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 27 | 3 | 30 | 90.0% |
| Listed Building | 16 | 1 | 17 | 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 | 249 | 43 | 292 | 85.3% |
| Whitchurch And Tongwynlais | 160 | 44 | 204 | 78.4% |
| Cyncoed | 131 | 30 | 161 | 81.4% |
| Penylan | 114 | 41 | 155 | 73.5% |
| Llandaff | 121 | 31 | 152 | 79.6% |
| Rhiwbina | 114 | 37 | 151 | 75.5% |
| Heath | 104 | 39 | 143 | 72.7% |
| Plasnewydd | 108 | 34 | 142 | 76.1% |
| Riverside | 104 | 34 | 138 | 75.4% |
| Llanishen | 71 | 66 | 137 | 51.8% |
| Grangetown | 98 | 17 | 115 | 85.2% |
| Butetown | 93 | 16 | 109 | 85.3% |
| Pontprennau And Old St Mellons | 67 | 26 | 93 | 72.0% |
| Canton | 64 | 18 | 82 | 78.0% |
| Lisvane And Thornhill | 77 | 4 | 81 | 95.1% |
| Splott | 58 | 20 | 78 | 74.4% |
| Trowbridge | 46 | 31 | 77 | 59.7% |
| Radyr And Morganstown | 52 | 17 | 69 | 75.4% |
| Pentyrch And St Fagans | 64 | 3 | 67 | 95.5% |
| Adamsdown | 50 | 7 | 57 | 87.7% |
| Rumney | 36 | 20 | 56 | 64.3% |
| Pentwyn | 30 | 23 | 53 | 56.6% |
| Creigiau And St Fagans | 33 | 17 | 50 | 66.0% |
| Fairwater | 33 | 16 | 49 | 67.3% |
| Caerau | 19 | 17 | 36 | 52.8% |
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 5.0pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 26/01196/WTCA Llandaff | Fell 2no Eucalyptus in rear garden. | Approved |
| 26/01198/WTTPP Cathays | Mature Copper Beech (T1) in rear garden of 30 Park Place - works as per submitte | Approved |
| 26/01190/WTTPFP Lisvane And Thornhill | Oak; front garden.- Reduce limbs to suitable growth points growing towards No13 | Approved |
| 26/01147/WTTPFP Cyncoed | Oak, rear garden - Remove suckers on main stem to first branch break. Very minor | Approved |
| 26/01078/CLPUD Grangetown | Remediation works comprising of replacement rendering, cladding and balcony deck | Approved |
| 26/01064/CLPUD Fairwater | Single-storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 26/00807/FUL Cathays | Development of roof terrace and installation of solar photovoltaics. | Approved |
| 26/00600/HSE Canton | Two storey side extension. | Approved |
| 25/02950/FUL Cathays | Single storey rear extension, rear dormer roof extension and conversion to form | Approved |
| 26/01114/CLPUD Rhiwbina | Hip to gable and rear dormer roof extension. | 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 4,803 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 4,803 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 4,803 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Cardiff is 81.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 4,803 planning decisions from Cardiff council. 3,926 were approved and 877 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Cardiff is 81.7%, 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.