Fife Council approves 90.7% of planning applications, based on 5,321 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Fife sits 2.7 percentage points above the national average.
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 Fife.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 4,828 | 493 | 5,321 | 90.7% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Neuk And Landward | 702 | 75 | 777 | 90.3% |
| St. Andrews | 602 | 55 | 657 | 91.6% |
| Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast | 467 | 75 | 542 | 86.2% |
| Cupar | 319 | 31 | 350 | 91.1% |
| West Fife And Coastal Villages | 280 | 27 | 307 | 91.2% |
| Dunfermline Central | 276 | 25 | 301 | 91.7% |
| Leven, Kennoway And Largo | 215 | 18 | 233 | 92.3% |
| Burntisland, Kinghorn And West Kirkcaldy | 217 | 12 | 229 | 94.8% |
| Inverkeithing And Dalgety Bay | 191 | 27 | 218 | 87.6% |
| Tay Bridgehead | 189 | 14 | 203 | 93.1% |
| Glenrothes North, Leslie And Markinch | 179 | 21 | 200 | 89.5% |
| Kirkcaldy Central | 173 | 6 | 179 | 96.6% |
| Kirkcaldy East | 134 | 7 | 141 | 95.0% |
| Glenrothes Central And Thornton | 115 | 19 | 134 | 85.8% |
| Cowdenbeath | 105 | 14 | 119 | 88.2% |
| Rosyth | 109 | 6 | 115 | 94.8% |
| Dunfermline North | 97 | 6 | 103 | 94.2% |
| Buckhaven, Methil And Wemyss Villages | 87 | 9 | 96 | 90.6% |
| Dunfermline South | 87 | 8 | 95 | 91.6% |
| Glenrothes West And Kinglassie | 69 | 6 | 75 | 92.0% |
| The Lochs | 61 | 11 | 72 | 84.7% |
| Kirkcaldy North | 65 | 5 | 70 | 92.9% |
| Lochgelly And Cardenden | 44 | 8 | 52 | 84.6% |
| Lochgelly, Cardenden And Benarty | 29 | 7 | 36 | 80.6% |
How Fife’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 5.8pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Fife council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 25/03357/FULL Glenrothes Central And Thornton | First floor extension to side of dwellinghouse | Approved |
| 26/00086/FULL Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast | Installation of replacement roof covering and erection of single storey extensio | Approved |
| 25/03356/LBC St. Andrews | Listed Building Consent for internal alterations to shop | Approved |
| 25/02892/LBC Leven, Kennoway And Largo | Listed Building Consent for single storey extension and decking to rear and 2 No | Approved |
| 25/03022/FULL Dunfermline Central | Formation of ramp to front of commercial property | Approved |
| 25/02870/LBC Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast | Listed Building Consent for internal/external alterations and extension to dwell | Approved |
| 25/02871/LBC Howe Of Fife And Tay Coast | Listed building consent for internal alterations | Refused |
| 25/02725/LBC St. Andrews | Listed Building Consent for internal alterations and external alterations includ | Approved |
| 25/01858/FULL Dunfermline Central | Change of use from industrial unit (Class 5/6) to dog training facility (Sui Gen | Approved |
| 25/02239/PPP Dunfermline North | Planning permission in principle for the erection of 2 No. dwellinghouses and as | 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 Fife's 5,321 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Fife's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Fife'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 Fife. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 5,321 real decisions from Fife 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 Fife'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 5,321 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Fife is 90.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 5,321 planning decisions from Fife council. 4,828 were approved and 493 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Fife is 90.7%, 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.