Fife planning approval rate
Fife council approved 91.5% of planning applications and refused 8.5%, based on 6,313 decisions analysed. Ranked 157th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
91.5%
overall approval rate
6,313
Decisions analysed
5,775
Approved
538
Refused
24
Wards covered
Planning in Fife? 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 Fife. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
90.8%
96.7%
99.4%
99.2%
60.0%
100.0%
100.0%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Fife, mined from 6,313 proposal descriptions.
96.0%
78.4%
88.4%
95.2%
94.4%
95.2%
96.5%
77.5%
95.5%
92.3%
90.9%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Fife. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
East Neuk And Landward
90.5%
St. Andrews
92.1%
Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast
87.6%
Cupar
92.0%
Dunfermline Central
93.1%
West Fife And Coastal Villages
91.6%
Inverkeithing And Dalgety Bay
88.9%
Burntisland, Kinghorn And West Kirkcaldy
93.8%
Leven, Kennoway And Largo
93.2%
Glenrothes North, Leslie And Markinch
89.9%
Tay Bridgehead
93.0%
Kirkcaldy Central
97.2%
Kirkcaldy East
94.8%
Rosyth
95.5%
Glenrothes Central And Thornton
86.8%
Cowdenbeath
90.6%
Dunfermline North
95.4%
Dunfermline South
93.6%
Buckhaven, Methil And Wemyss Villages
91.9%
Glenrothes West And Kinglassie
93.4%
Wards in Fife
East Neuk And Landward
90.5% approval · 904 decisions
St. Andrews
92.1% approval · 789 decisions
Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast
87.6% approval · 619 decisions
Cupar
92.0% approval · 402 decisions
Dunfermline Central
93.1% approval · 362 decisions
West Fife And Coastal Villages
91.6% approval · 358 decisions
Inverkeithing And Dalgety Bay
88.9% approval · 279 decisions
Burntisland, Kinghorn And West Kirkcaldy
93.8% approval · 274 decisions
Leven, Kennoway And Largo
93.2% approval · 263 decisions
Glenrothes North, Leslie And Markinch
89.9% approval · 247 decisions
Tay Bridgehead
93.0% approval · 243 decisions
Kirkcaldy Central
97.2% approval · 212 decisions
Kirkcaldy East
94.8% approval · 173 decisions
Rosyth
95.5% approval · 157 decisions
Glenrothes Central And Thornton
86.8% approval · 152 decisions
Cowdenbeath
90.6% approval · 149 decisions
Dunfermline North
95.4% approval · 131 decisions
Dunfermline South
93.6% approval · 125 decisions
Buckhaven, Methil And Wemyss Villages
91.9% approval · 111 decisions
Glenrothes West And Kinglassie
93.4% approval · 91 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Fife, showing how the council decides real applications.
Erection of house (Class 9) and associated development, including formation of v · Glenrothes North, Leslie And Markinch · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Alterations to dormer extension · Inverkeithing And Dalgety Bay · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Single storey extension to front of dwellinghouse · St. Andrews · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Fife, 1 in 12 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 Fife
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Fife →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Fife
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 6,313 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Fife
What is the planning approval rate in Fife?
Based on 6,313 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Fife approved 91.5% of applications and refused 8.5%. The council is ranked 157th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Fife?
Fife refuses 8.5% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 12. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 6,313 decided applications since 2020, 538 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Fife have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Fife are in Kirkcaldy Central (97.2%), Rosyth (95.5%), and Dunfermline North (95.4%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Fife?
The most common planning application types in Fife are: Other (5,387 decisions, 90.8% approved), Full (423, 96.7%), and Discharge of Conditions (160, 99.4%).
How long does a planning application take in Fife?
Planning applications in Fife take an average of 8.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 987 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. Fife decides approximately 1,052 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Fife?
You can search planning applications in Fife directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 6,313 historical decisions in Fife to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Fife calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Fife'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.