Lake District NPA Council approves 91.4% of planning applications, based on 31,946 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Lake District NPA sits 3.1 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 31,946 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Lake District NPA is 91.4%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Lake District NPA council planning portal records · Updated June 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 | 19,045 | 1,869 | 20,914 | 91.1% |
| Other | 4,245 | 406 | 4,651 | 91.3% |
| Listed Building | 1,927 | 147 | 2,074 | 92.9% |
| Trees | 1,657 | 14 | 1,671 | 99.2% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 1,279 | 123 | 1,402 | 91.2% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 567 | 139 | 706 | 80.3% |
| Advertisement | 449 | 58 | 507 | 88.6% |
| 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 | 2,102 | 176 | 2,278 | 92.3% |
| 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 | 463 | 36 | 499 | 92.8% |
| Warnell | 452 | 28 | 480 | 94.2% |
| Windermere Applethwaite and Troutbeck WA | 434 | 33 | 467 | 92.9% |
| Windermere and Ambleside | 419 | 40 | 459 | 91.3% |
| Greystoke | 415 | 32 | 447 | 92.8% |
| Broughton | 369 | 26 | 395 | 93.4% |
| Gosforth | 338 | 28 | 366 | 92.3% |
| Millom Without | 326 | 30 | 356 | 91.6% |
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 7.6pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 7/2026/5040 Grange and Cartmel | The making of a material change of use from agriculture to a mixed use of agricu | Approved |
| 7/2026/5224 Coniston and Hawkshead | Change of use of former garage to dwellinghouse | Approved |
| 7/2025/2190 Bothel and Wharrels | Replacement of the old septic tank with new treatment plant | Approved |
| 7/2026/2088 Keswick | Proposed alterations and extensions to The Falls Spa to form new sauna, new exte | Approved |
| 7/2026/3050 Greystoke and Ullswater | Replacement of asbestos-cement flue with metal twin-walled flue in the same loca | Approved |
| 7/2026/2077 Bothel and Wharrels | Change of use from guesthouse to flexible use as a) guesthouse or b) dwelling us | Approved |
| 7/2026/2095 Keswick | Change of use of garage to two holiday letting bedrooms, containing one bed spac | Approved |
| 7/2025/2231 Bothel and Wharrels | Change of use from a dwellinghouse to use as short-term holiday letting accommod | Refused |
| 7/2026/5172 Upper Kent | Replacement garage | Approved |
| 7/2026/5138 Windermere and Ambleside | New signage to replace existing located on front and side elevations | 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 31,946 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Lake District NPA's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
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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 31,946 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 31,946 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Lake District NPA is 91.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 31,946 planning decisions from Lake District NPA council. 29,185 were approved and 2,761 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Lake District NPA is 91.4%, 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.