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 87.9%. Nottingham sits 5.7 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 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.
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 (May 2019) | 944 | 51 | 995 | 94.9% |
| Lenton And Wollaton East (May 2019) | 562 | 53 | 615 | 91.4% |
| Hyson Green And Arboretum (May 2019) | 423 | 31 | 454 | 93.2% |
| Wollaton West (May 2019) | 404 | 24 | 428 | 94.4% |
| Mapperley (May 2019) | 403 | 24 | 427 | 94.4% |
| St Anns (May 2019) | 376 | 20 | 396 | 94.9% |
| Dales (May 2019) | 263 | 28 | 291 | 90.4% |
| Berridge (May 2019) | 273 | 16 | 289 | 94.5% |
| Sherwood (May 2019) | 268 | 17 | 285 | 94.0% |
| Leen Valley (May 2019) | 250 | 16 | 266 | 94.0% |
| Meadows (May 2019) | 222 | 19 | 241 | 92.1% |
| Bilborough (May 2019) | 222 | 13 | 235 | 94.5% |
| Radford (May 2019) | 206 | 27 | 233 | 88.4% |
| Clifton West (May 2019) | 216 | 9 | 225 | 96.0% |
| Basford (May 2019) | 206 | 16 | 222 | 92.8% |
| Bulwell (May 2019) | 170 | 8 | 178 | 95.5% |
| Aspley (May 2019) | 117 | 13 | 130 | 90.0% |
| Bulwell Forest (May 2019) | 114 | 8 | 122 | 93.4% |
| Bestwood (May 2019) | 112 | 2 | 114 | 98.2% |
| Clifton East (May 2019) | 92 | 8 | 100 | 92.0% |
| Bridge | 10 | 0 | 10 | 100.0% |
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 (May 2019) | Amendment to planning permission ref. 22/00329/PFUL3 to add small windows to gro | Approved |
| 25/02229/PNMA Bilborough (May 2019) | Change the roof from a flat top to a hip that meets at a point. To centre the do | Approved |
| 25/02063/PFUL3 Mapperley (May 2019) | PROPOSED SUB DIVISION OF EXISTING BUILDING TO CREATE TWO ADDITIONAL ONE BED FLAT | Approved |
| 25/02041/ADV2 Bulwell (May 2019) | Replacement signage | Approved |
| 25/02018/PFUL3 Dales (May 2019) | External wall insulation with a render finish to rear elevation and brick effect | Approved |
| 25/02019/PFUL3 Dales (May 2019) | Ground floor single storey rear extension to create new studio | Approved |
| 25/01973/PFUL3 Aspley (May 2019) | Retrosepctive application for a garage/outbuilding to the rear of the property | Approved |
| 25/01670/PFUL3 Sherwood (May 2019) | Replacement of two old wooden windows with PVC double glazed each with a trickle | Approved |
| 25/01691/PFUL3 Berridge (May 2019) | Change of use from Class E to Sui Generis (hot food takeaway) | Approved |
| 25/01030/PACPD Basford (May 2019) | Change of use to 4 dwellings | Refused |
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 Nottingham's 6,278 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
Get My Pro Report — £79Compare 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:
Based on 6,278 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Nottingham is 93.6%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, 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 PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.