Leicester Council approves 83.3% of planning applications, based on 538 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Leicester sits 4.7 percentage points below 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 Leicester.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 245 | 55 | 300 | 81.7% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 41 | 10 | 51 | 80.4% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 45 | 5 | 50 | 90.0% |
| Trees | 44 | 2 | 46 | 95.7% |
| Other | 39 | 6 | 45 | 86.7% |
| Change of Use | 17 | 8 | 25 | 68.0% |
| Advertisement | 11 | 4 | 15 | 73.3% |
| Listed Building | 6 | 0 | 6 | 100.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle | 67 | 7 | 74 | 90.5% |
| Knighton | 55 | 9 | 64 | 85.9% |
| Evington | 34 | 8 | 42 | 81.0% |
| Stoneygate | 25 | 10 | 35 | 71.4% |
| Rushey Mead | 27 | 6 | 33 | 81.8% |
| Abbey | 26 | 5 | 31 | 83.9% |
| Humberstone & Hamilton | 27 | 2 | 29 | 93.1% |
| Troon | 24 | 3 | 27 | 88.9% |
| Westcotes | 20 | 5 | 25 | 80.0% |
| Beaumont Leys | 20 | 1 | 21 | 95.2% |
| North Evington | 15 | 5 | 20 | 75.0% |
| Aylestone | 14 | 5 | 19 | 73.7% |
| Belgrave | 15 | 3 | 18 | 83.3% |
| Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields | 11 | 6 | 17 | 64.7% |
| Thurncourt | 11 | 4 | 15 | 73.3% |
| Fosse | 10 | 5 | 15 | 66.7% |
| Western | 12 | 1 | 13 | 92.3% |
| Saffron | 11 | 2 | 13 | 84.6% |
| Spinney Hills | 12 | 0 | 12 | 100.0% |
| Wycliffe | 7 | 3 | 10 | 70.0% |
| Eyres Monsell | 5 | 0 | 5 | 100.0% |
How Leicester’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 0.8pp since 2025.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Leicester council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 20251864 Abbey | Construction of single storey extension at side; dormer at rear; removal of rear | Refused |
| 20260033 Troon | Construction of single storey extension at front and rear of house (Class C3) | Approved |
| 20251368 Thurncourt | Construction of single storey dwelling house at rear (1 Bed) (Class C3); boundar | Refused |
| 20252005 Rushey Mead | Construction of two storey side extension; part single and part two storey rear | Approved |
| 20260001 North Evington | Change of use from (Class E) to a shisha café (sui generis); installation of rol | Refused |
| 20251815 Humberstone & Hamilton | Construction of single and two storey extensions at rear; alterations to house ( | Approved |
| 20251461 Knighton | Construction of single storey extension at rear of house (Class C3) | Refused |
| 20251484 Knighton | Construction of first floor extension at side; single storey extension at rear o | Approved |
| 20250173 North Evington | Change of use from public open space to dwellinghouses; construction of two-stor | Approved |
| 20251805 Abbey | Alterations to roof to form gabled entrance at front; construction of single sto | Refused |
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 Leicester's 538 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Leicester's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Leicester'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 Leicester. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 538 real decisions from Leicester 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 Leicester'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 538 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Leicester is 83.3%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 538 planning decisions from Leicester council. 448 were approved and 90 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Leicester is 83.3%, 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.