Lancaster Council approves 93.3% of planning applications, based on 4,014 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Lancaster sits 5.4 percentage points above the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 Lancaster.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trees | 1,145 | 39 | 1,184 | 96.7% |
| Other | 948 | 96 | 1,044 | 90.8% |
| Full | 841 | 67 | 908 | 92.6% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 317 | 20 | 337 | 94.1% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 295 | 18 | 313 | 94.2% |
| Listed Building | 62 | 1 | 63 | 98.4% |
| Advertisement | 53 | 6 | 59 | 89.8% |
| Prior Approval | 47 | 11 | 58 | 81.0% |
| Change of Use | 37 | 11 | 48 | 77.1% |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Lune Valley Ward | 182 | 19 | 201 | 90.5% |
| Bolton And Slyne Ward | 160 | 8 | 168 | 95.2% |
| Upper Lune Valley Ward | 141 | 13 | 154 | 91.6% |
| Upper Lune Valley | 134 | 8 | 142 | 94.4% |
| Ellel Ward | 115 | 24 | 139 | 82.7% |
| Silverdale Ward | 123 | 6 | 129 | 95.3% |
| Kellet Ward 2015 | 110 | 15 | 125 | 88.0% |
| Lower Lune Valley | 112 | 7 | 119 | 94.1% |
| Silverdale | 105 | 8 | 113 | 92.9% |
| Castle Ward | 103 | 6 | 109 | 94.5% |
| Scotforth West Ward | 103 | 5 | 108 | 95.4% |
| Ellel | 101 | 4 | 105 | 96.2% |
| Castle | 100 | 5 | 105 | 95.2% |
| Dukes | 99 | 5 | 104 | 95.2% |
| Slyne With Hest | 87 | 9 | 96 | 90.6% |
| Kellet | 87 | 5 | 92 | 94.6% |
| Scotforth West | 82 | 6 | 88 | 93.2% |
| Marsh Ward | 81 | 3 | 84 | 96.4% |
| Bolton Le Sands | 76 | 7 | 83 | 91.6% |
| Torrisholme | 70 | 5 | 75 | 93.3% |
| Warton Ward | 72 | 2 | 74 | 97.3% |
| Poulton | 67 | 5 | 72 | 93.1% |
| John O'Gaunt | 66 | 5 | 71 | 93.0% |
| Overton Ward | 60 | 6 | 66 | 90.9% |
| Westgate | 60 | 6 | 66 | 90.9% |
Showing top 25 of 60 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →Real residential planning decisions from Lancaster council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00258/EIR Lower Lune Valley Ward | Screening request for the erection of machinery/agricultural storage building | Approved |
| 26/00222/EIR Ellel Ward | Screening request for the erection of a steel framed building to create a new si | Approved |
| 26/00176/PLDC Bowerham Ward | Proposed lawful development certificate for the conversion of the existing roof | Approved |
| 26/00168/PLDC Heysham Central Ward | Proposed lawful development certificate for the erection of a single storey side | Approved |
| 26/00169/PLDC Heysham Central Ward | Proposed lawful development certificate for construction of a dormer extension t | Approved |
| 26/00159/NMA Warton Ward | Non material amendment to planning permission 23/00971/VCN to amend the detached | Refused |
| 26/00157/PLDC Ellel Ward | Proposed lawful development certificate for erection of outbuilding for ancillar | Refused |
| 26/00106/FUL Heysham Central Ward | Erection of first floor rear extension above existing ground floor | Approved |
| 26/00143/PLDC Castle Ward | Proposed lawful development certificate for detached outbuilding to rear garden | Approved |
| 26/00107/PLDC Halton-with-Aughton And Kellet Ward | Proposed lawful development certificate for the erection of a shed/summerhouse t | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Lancaster's 4,014 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
Get My Pro Report — £79Compare Lancaster's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Lancaster's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 4,014 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Lancaster is 93.3%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 4,014 planning decisions from Lancaster council. 3,745 were approved and 269 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Lancaster is 93.3%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.