Fife planning approval rate
Fife council approved 91.0% of planning applications and refused 9.0%, based on 5,821 decisions analysed. Ranked 143rd out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
91.0%
overall approval rate
5,821
Decisions analysed
5,299
Approved
522
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%
95.2%
98.8%
98.3%
59.5%
100.0%
100.0%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Fife, mined from 5,821 proposal descriptions.
95.8%
78.1%
87.5%
94.6%
93.8%
95.0%
96.1%
77.5%
95.2%
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
90.2%
St. Andrews
91.9%
Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast
86.8%
Cupar
91.5%
West Fife And Coastal Villages
91.0%
Dunfermline Central
92.4%
Burntisland, Kinghorn And West Kirkcaldy
93.8%
Inverkeithing And Dalgety Bay
87.7%
Leven, Kennoway And Largo
92.8%
Tay Bridgehead
93.4%
Glenrothes North, Leslie And Markinch
89.9%
Kirkcaldy Central
97.0%
Kirkcaldy East
94.9%
Glenrothes Central And Thornton
86.1%
Rosyth
95.7%
Cowdenbeath
89.7%
Dunfermline North
94.9%
Dunfermline South
92.7%
Buckhaven, Methil And Wemyss Villages
91.1%
Glenrothes West And Kinglassie
93.1%
Wards in Fife
East Neuk And Landward
90.2% approval · 833 decisions
St. Andrews
91.9% approval · 726 decisions
Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast
86.8% approval · 575 decisions
Cupar
91.5% approval · 377 decisions
West Fife And Coastal Villages
91.0% approval · 334 decisions
Dunfermline Central
92.4% approval · 327 decisions
Burntisland, Kinghorn And West Kirkcaldy
93.8% approval · 256 decisions
Inverkeithing And Dalgety Bay
87.7% approval · 253 decisions
Leven, Kennoway And Largo
92.8% approval · 250 decisions
Tay Bridgehead
93.4% approval · 227 decisions
Glenrothes North, Leslie And Markinch
89.9% approval · 218 decisions
Kirkcaldy Central
97.0% approval · 197 decisions
Kirkcaldy East
94.9% approval · 157 decisions
Glenrothes Central And Thornton
86.1% approval · 144 decisions
Rosyth
95.7% approval · 138 decisions
Cowdenbeath
89.7% approval · 136 decisions
Dunfermline North
94.9% approval · 118 decisions
Dunfermline South
92.7% approval · 109 decisions
Buckhaven, Methil And Wemyss Villages
91.1% approval · 101 decisions
Glenrothes West And Kinglassie
93.1% approval · 87 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Fife, showing how the council decides real applications.
Single storey extension to rear of dwellinghouse · East Neuk And Landward · Fri 26 Jun 2026
Erection of replacement stone wall · St. Andrews · Fri 26 Jun 2026
Erection of new-build facility for research and development (Class 4) (decarboni · Tay Bridgehead · Thu 25 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Fife, 1 in 11 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 5,821 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Fife
What is the planning approval rate in Fife?
Based on 5,821 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Fife approved 91.0% of applications and refused 9.0%. The council is ranked 143rd out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Fife?
Fife refuses 9.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 11. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 5,821 decided applications since 2020, 522 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 (97.0%), Rosyth (95.7%), and Kirkcaldy East (94.9%). 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 (5,353 decisions, 90.8% approved), Full (208, 95.2%), and Discharge of Conditions (86, 98.8%).
How long does a planning application take in Fife?
Planning applications in Fife take an average of 7.8 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 498 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is inside 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 970 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 5,821 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.