Nottingham Council approves 93.6% of planning applications, based on 6,278 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Nottingham sits 5.6 percentage points above 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 Nottingham.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 2,830 | 257 | 3,087 | 91.7% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 896 | 8 | 904 | 99.1% |
| Trees | 644 | 42 | 686 | 93.9% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 521 | 27 | 548 | 95.1% |
| Advertisement | 330 | 25 | 355 | 93.0% |
| Other | 274 | 8 | 282 | 97.2% |
| Listed Building | 236 | 5 | 241 | 97.9% |
| Prior Approval | 143 | 32 | 175 | 81.7% |
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 | 944 | 51 | 995 | 94.9% |
| Lenton And Wollaton East | 562 | 53 | 615 | 91.4% |
| Hyson Green And Arboretum | 423 | 31 | 454 | 93.2% |
| Wollaton West | 404 | 24 | 428 | 94.4% |
| Mapperley | 403 | 24 | 427 | 94.4% |
| St Anns | 376 | 20 | 396 | 94.9% |
| Dales | 263 | 28 | 291 | 90.4% |
| Berridge | 273 | 16 | 289 | 94.5% |
| Sherwood | 268 | 17 | 285 | 94.0% |
| Leen Valley | 250 | 16 | 266 | 94.0% |
| Meadows | 222 | 19 | 241 | 92.1% |
| Bilborough | 222 | 13 | 235 | 94.5% |
| Radford | 206 | 27 | 233 | 88.4% |
| Clifton West | 216 | 9 | 225 | 96.0% |
| Basford | 206 | 16 | 222 | 92.8% |
| Bulwell | 170 | 8 | 178 | 95.5% |
| Aspley | 117 | 13 | 130 | 90.0% |
| Bulwell Forest | 114 | 8 | 122 | 93.4% |
| Bestwood | 112 | 2 | 114 | 98.2% |
| Clifton East | 92 | 8 | 100 | 92.0% |
| Bridge | 10 | 0 | 10 | 100.0% |
How Nottingham’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — down 0.7pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Nottingham council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 22/02352/PNMA Aspley | Amendment to planning permission ref. 22/00329/PFUL3 to add small windows to gro | Approved |
| 25/02229/PNMA Bilborough | Change the roof from a flat top to a hip that meets at a point. To centre the do | Approved |
| 25/02063/PFUL3 Mapperley | PROPOSED SUB DIVISION OF EXISTING BUILDING TO CREATE TWO ADDITIONAL ONE BED FLAT | Approved |
| 25/02041/ADV2 Bulwell | Replacement signage | Approved |
| 25/02018/PFUL3 Dales | External wall insulation with a render finish to rear elevation and brick effect | Approved |
| 25/02019/PFUL3 Dales | Ground floor single storey rear extension to create new studio | Approved |
| 25/01973/PFUL3 Aspley | Retrosepctive application for a garage/outbuilding to the rear of the property | Approved |
| 25/01670/PFUL3 Sherwood | Replacement of two old wooden windows with PVC double glazed each with a trickle | Approved |
| 25/01691/PFUL3 Berridge | Change of use from Class E to Sui Generis (hot food takeaway) | Approved |
| 25/01030/PACPD Basford | Change of use to 4 dwellings | 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 Nottingham's 6,278 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Nottingham's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Nottingham'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 Nottingham. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 6,278 real decisions from Nottingham 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 Nottingham'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 6,278 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Nottingham is 93.6%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 6,278 planning decisions from Nottingham council. 5,874 were approved and 404 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Nottingham is 93.6%, 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.