Lake District NPA Council approves 91.3% of planning applications, based on 32,107 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Lake District NPA sits 2.7 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,219 decided applications, Lake District NPA Council approved 90.7% of planning applications in 2025. Across 32,107 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Lake District NPA is 91.3%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Lake District NPA council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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 Lake District NPA.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 19,107 | 1,886 | 20,993 | 91.0% |
| Other | 4,274 | 411 | 4,685 | 91.2% |
| Listed Building | 1,935 | 148 | 2,083 | 92.9% |
| Trees | 1,670 | 14 | 1,684 | 99.2% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 1,289 | 123 | 1,412 | 91.3% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 577 | 141 | 718 | 80.4% |
| Advertisement | 452 | 59 | 511 | 88.5% |
| Change of Use | 16 | 5 | 21 | 76.2% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keswick | 2,105 | 179 | 2,284 | 92.2% |
| Ambleside and Grasmere | 1,534 | 121 | 1,655 | 92.7% |
| Ullswater | 1,125 | 73 | 1,198 | 93.9% |
| Hawkshead | 893 | 57 | 950 | 94.0% |
| Lyth Valley | 845 | 58 | 903 | 93.6% |
| Ambleside & Grasmere | 771 | 106 | 877 | 87.9% |
| Crummock | 733 | 100 | 833 | 88.0% |
| Bowness & Levens | 743 | 79 | 822 | 90.4% |
| Askham | 766 | 44 | 810 | 94.6% |
| Broughton & Coniston | 703 | 90 | 793 | 88.7% |
| Windermere Bowness South | 643 | 59 | 702 | 91.6% |
| Derwent Valley | 650 | 41 | 691 | 94.1% |
| Staveley-in-Cartmel | 603 | 52 | 655 | 92.1% |
| Staveley-in-Westmorland | 565 | 53 | 618 | 91.4% |
| Boltons | 572 | 45 | 617 | 92.7% |
| Windermere Bowness | 494 | 31 | 525 | 94.1% |
| Coniston and Crake Valley | 479 | 34 | 513 | 93.4% |
| Windermere and Ambleside | 460 | 44 | 504 | 91.3% |
| Windermere | 463 | 36 | 499 | 92.8% |
| Warnell | 452 | 28 | 480 | 94.2% |
| Windermere Applethwaite and Troutbeck WA | 434 | 33 | 467 | 92.9% |
| Greystoke | 415 | 32 | 447 | 92.8% |
| Broughton | 369 | 26 | 395 | 93.4% |
| Gosforth | 341 | 29 | 370 | 92.2% |
| Millom Without | 331 | 32 | 363 | 91.2% |
Showing top 25 of 150 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Lake District NPA’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 8.2pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Lake District NPA council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 7/2026/5165 Bowness and Lyth | Proposed first floor rear lightweight aluminium extension and front signage | Refused |
| 7/2026/5166 Bowness and Lyth | Proposed first floor rear lightweight aluminium extension and front signage | Refused |
| 7/2026/5325 Grange and Cartmel | New garage/store | Approved |
| 7/2026/5340 Levens and Crooklands | Replacement of the existing pod and change of use to dual / flexible use (both h | Refused |
| 7/2026/5351 Coniston and Hawkshead | Erection of six interpretation boards | Approved |
| 7/2026/5091 Grange and Cartmel | Installation of a timber-built agricultural storage shed | Refused |
| 7/2026/2047 Bothel and Wharrels | Change of use of barn to dwelling for flexible occupation as an agricultural wor | Approved |
| 7/2026/2049 Bothel and Wharrels | Change of use of barn to dwelling for flexible occupation as an agricultural wor | Approved |
| 7/2026/5322 Windermere and Ambleside | Sub-division of dwelling to create unfettered dwelling and local occupancy dwell | Approved |
| 7/2026/5237 Grange and Cartmel | Change of use from Guest House (Class C1) to a single Principal Dwellinghouse (C | 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 Lake District NPA's 32,107 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Lake District NPA's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
More council comparisons coming soon.
Dig deeper into Lake District NPA'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 Lake District NPA. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 32,107 real decisions from Lake District NPA 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 Lake District NPA'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 32,107 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Lake District NPA is 91.3%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 32,107 planning decisions from Lake District NPA council. 29,320 were approved and 2,787 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Lake District NPA is 91.3%, 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.
Writing about planning in Lake District NPA? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.