East Dunbartonshire planning approval rate
East Dunbartonshire council approved 96.2% of planning applications and refused 3.8%, based on 1,206 decisions analysed. Ranked 269th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
96.2%
overall approval rate
1,206
Decisions analysed
1,160
Approved
46
Refused
7
Wards covered
Planning in East Dunbartonshire? 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 East Dunbartonshire. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
96.6%
88.0%
94.4%
100.0%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in East Dunbartonshire, mined from 1,206 proposal descriptions.
98.4%
98.7%
92.9%
96.8%
99.0%
100.0%
97.2%
75.6%
100.0%
100.0%
60.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within East Dunbartonshire. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Bearsden North
97.8%
Bishopbriggs North And Campsie
94.1%
Bearsden South
98.6%
Milngavie
97.6%
Lenzie And Kirkintilloch South
92.6%
Bishopbriggs South
96.9%
Kirkintilloch East And North And Twechar
93.9%
Wards in East Dunbartonshire
Bearsden North
97.8% approval · 229 decisions
Bishopbriggs North And Campsie
94.1% approval · 222 decisions
Bearsden South
98.6% approval · 215 decisions
Milngavie
97.6% approval · 165 decisions
Lenzie And Kirkintilloch South
92.6% approval · 163 decisions
Bishopbriggs South
96.9% approval · 130 decisions
Kirkintilloch East And North And Twechar
93.9% approval · 82 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in East Dunbartonshire, showing how the council decides real applications.
Front and rear dormer windows · Milngavie · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Retrospective planning permission for a garden building built within the applica · Bishopbriggs North And Campsie · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Change of use of open space to garden ground · Lenzie And Kirkintilloch South · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In East Dunbartonshire, 1 in 26 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 East Dunbartonshire
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for East Dunbartonshire →
✓ Common refusal reasons in East Dunbartonshire
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 1,206 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in East Dunbartonshire
What is the planning approval rate in East Dunbartonshire?
Based on 1,206 planning decisions analysed since 2020, East Dunbartonshire approved 96.2% of applications and refused 3.8%. The council is ranked 269th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in East Dunbartonshire?
East Dunbartonshire refuses 3.8% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 26. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 1,206 decided applications since 2020, 46 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of East Dunbartonshire have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in East Dunbartonshire are in Bearsden South (98.6%), Bearsden North (97.8%), and Milngavie (97.6%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in East Dunbartonshire?
The most common planning application types in East Dunbartonshire are: Full (958 decisions, 96.6% approved), Certificate of Lawfulness (107, 98.1%), and Other (75, 88.0%).
How long does a planning application take in East Dunbartonshire?
Planning applications in East Dunbartonshire take an average of 12.1 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,197 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. East Dunbartonshire decides approximately 201 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in East Dunbartonshire?
You can search planning applications in East Dunbartonshire directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 1,206 historical decisions in East Dunbartonshire to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for East Dunbartonshire calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes East Dunbartonshire'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.