Oldham planning approval rate
Oldham council approved 89.5% of planning applications and refused 10.5%, based on 7,388 decisions analysed. Ranked 113th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
89.5%
overall approval rate
7,388
Decisions analysed
6,610
Approved
778
Refused
20
Wards covered
Planning in Oldham? Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Oldham. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
90.4%
87.3%
82.0%
90.3%
84.0%
84.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Oldham, mined from 7,388 proposal descriptions.
91.4%
91.0%
90.5%
90.0%
89.8%
82.0%
86.7%
93.4%
95.3%
85.7%
93.2%
90.7%
90.0%
92.3%
91.3%
90.6%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Oldham. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Saddleworth North
87.0%
Saddleworth South
90.0%
Coldhurst
90.2%
Chadderton North
88.6%
Saint Mary's
91.7%
Chadderton Central
88.6%
Werneth
85.4%
Failsworth East
91.6%
Saddleworth West And Lees
89.6%
Royton North
91.3%
Chadderton South
90.5%
Shaw
89.1%
Royton South
92.4%
Failsworth West
94.5%
Medlock Vale
87.5%
Alexandra
89.2%
Hollinwood
82.3%
Crompton
92.1%
Waterhead
94.1%
Saint James'
88.8%
Wards in Oldham
Saddleworth North
87.0% approval · 775 decisions
Saddleworth South
90.0% approval · 690 decisions
Coldhurst
90.2% approval · 602 decisions
Chadderton North
88.6% approval · 430 decisions
Saint Mary's
91.7% approval · 423 decisions
Chadderton Central
88.6% approval · 405 decisions
Werneth
85.4% approval · 404 decisions
Failsworth East
91.6% approval · 344 decisions
Saddleworth West And Lees
89.6% approval · 337 decisions
Royton North
91.3% approval · 323 decisions
Chadderton South
90.5% approval · 316 decisions
Shaw
89.1% approval · 293 decisions
Royton South
92.4% approval · 291 decisions
Failsworth West
94.5% approval · 273 decisions
Medlock Vale
87.5% approval · 263 decisions
Alexandra
89.2% approval · 249 decisions
Hollinwood
82.3% approval · 237 decisions
Crompton
92.1% approval · 228 decisions
Waterhead
94.1% approval · 222 decisions
Saint James'
88.8% approval · 215 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Oldham, showing how the council decides real applications.
Two storey side and rear extension. · Chadderton Central · Fri 14 Aug 2026
1) Part two storey part single storey rear extension 2) Rear garden landscaping · Failsworth West · Fri 14 Aug 2026
1) Single storey side extension 2) Front porch extension. · Chadderton South · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Oldham, 1 in 10 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Oldham
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Oldham →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Oldham
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 7,388 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Oldham
What is the planning approval rate in Oldham?
Based on 7,388 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Oldham approved 89.5% of applications and refused 10.5%. The council is ranked 113th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Oldham?
Oldham refuses 10.5% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 10. That is close to the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 7,388 decided applications since 2020, 778 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Oldham have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Oldham are in Failsworth West (94.5%), Waterhead (94.1%), and Royton South (92.4%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Oldham?
The most common planning application types in Oldham are: Full (5,366 decisions, 90.4% approved), Other (1,004, 87.3%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (247, 91.9%).
How long does a planning application take in Oldham?
Planning applications in Oldham take an average of 12.5 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 7,321 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is slower than the 8-week statutory target for householder applications (the statutory targets are 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments). PlanningLens measures the actual time each application takes, not just the target. Oldham decides approximately 1,231 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Oldham?
You can search planning applications in Oldham directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 7,388 historical decisions in Oldham to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Oldham calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Oldham's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at planninglens.co.uk/methodology.