Gwynedd planning approval rate
Gwynedd council approved 88.6% of planning applications and refused 11.4%, based on 11,003 decisions analysed. Ranked 95th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
88.6%
overall approval rate
11,003
Decisions analysed
9,753
Approved
1,250
Refused
77
Wards covered
Planning in Gwynedd? 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 Gwynedd. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
88.6%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Gwynedd, mined from 11,003 proposal descriptions.
91.4%
85.9%
86.5%
93.8%
79.3%
92.7%
84.4%
96.4%
78.8%
91.3%
88.4%
88.9%
64.9%
69.7%
92.3%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Gwynedd. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Abersoch
84.6%
Llanystumdwy
86.7%
Porthmadog (West)
90.1%
Criccieth
88.6%
Llanengan
80.1%
Tregarth & Mynydd Llandygai
88.5%
Efailnewydd / Buan
87.1%
Groeslon
83.9%
Llanwnda
85.6%
Abersoch gyda Llanengan
80.8%
Bethel a'r Felinheli
89.5%
Penrhyndeudraeth
93.5%
Arllechwedd
91.2%
Seiont (Caernarfon)
95.8%
Aberdaron
89.0%
Y Felinheli
86.2%
Pwllheli (North)
93.7%
Abermaw
92.2%
Llanberis
91.7%
Pentir
88.9%
Wards in Gwynedd
Abersoch
84.6% approval · 389 decisions
Llanystumdwy
86.7% approval · 361 decisions
Porthmadog (West)
90.1% approval · 312 decisions
Criccieth
88.6% approval · 307 decisions
Llanengan
80.1% approval · 267 decisions
Tregarth & Mynydd Llandygai
88.5% approval · 261 decisions
Efailnewydd / Buan
87.1% approval · 240 decisions
Groeslon
83.9% approval · 223 decisions
Llanwnda
85.6% approval · 222 decisions
Abersoch gyda Llanengan
80.8% approval · 219 decisions
Bethel a'r Felinheli
89.5% approval · 219 decisions
Penrhyndeudraeth
93.5% approval · 217 decisions
Arllechwedd
91.2% approval · 217 decisions
Seiont (Caernarfon)
95.8% approval · 213 decisions
Aberdaron
89.0% approval · 210 decisions
Y Felinheli
86.2% approval · 210 decisions
Pwllheli (North)
93.7% approval · 205 decisions
Abermaw
92.2% approval · 205 decisions
Llanberis
91.7% approval · 204 decisions
Pentir
88.9% approval · 199 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Gwynedd, showing how the council decides real applications.
Codi sied amaethyddol ar gyfer gweithdy a storio peiriannau fferm. Erection of a · Morfa Nefyn a Thudweiliog · 2026-06-29
Adeiladu estyniad unllawr i modurdy. Construction of a single story garage exten · Tryfan · 2026-06-22
Estyniad llawr cyntaf ar gefn yr eiddo Proposed first floor rear extension · Abersoch gyda Llanengan · 2026-06-15
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Gwynedd, 1 in 9 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 Gwynedd
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Gwynedd →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Gwynedd
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 11,003 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Gwynedd
What is the planning approval rate in Gwynedd?
Based on 11,003 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Gwynedd approved 88.6% of applications and refused 11.4%. The council is ranked 95th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Gwynedd?
Gwynedd refuses 11.4% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 9. That is close to the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 11,003 decided applications since 2020, 1,250 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Gwynedd have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Gwynedd are in Pwllheli (South) (98.6%), Dwyrain Bangor (98.5%), and Seiont (Caernarfon) (95.8%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Gwynedd?
The most common planning application types in Gwynedd are: Other (11,003 decisions, 88.6% approved).
How long does a planning application take in Gwynedd?
Most planning applications in Gwynedd are decided within 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments, the statutory targets set by central government. With 11,003 decisions analysed since 2020, Gwynedd processes approximately 1,834 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Gwynedd?
You can search planning applications in Gwynedd directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 11,003 historical decisions in Gwynedd to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Gwynedd calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Gwynedd'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.