Oldham planning approval rate
Oldham council approved 89.0% of planning applications and refused 11.0%, based on 7,038 decisions analysed. Ranked 104th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
89.0%
overall approval rate
7,038
Decisions analysed
6,261
Approved
777
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.
89.9%
86.8%
80.7%
83.5%
89.5%
84.6%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Oldham, mined from 7,038 proposal descriptions.
91.0%
90.5%
90.0%
89.5%
89.3%
81.0%
86.1%
93.1%
95.1%
84.4%
93.1%
90.1%
89.8%
92.0%
90.9%
90.3%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Oldham. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Saddleworth North
86.6%
Saddleworth South
89.5%
Coldhurst
89.6%
Chadderton North
87.9%
Saint Mary's
91.3%
Werneth
85.0%
Chadderton Central
88.0%
Failsworth East
91.2%
Saddleworth West And Lees
89.2%
Royton North
90.8%
Chadderton South
89.9%
Shaw
88.6%
Royton South
92.1%
Failsworth West
94.3%
Medlock Vale
87.0%
Alexandra
88.6%
Hollinwood
81.3%
Crompton
91.7%
Waterhead
93.8%
Saint James'
88.1%
Wards in Oldham
Saddleworth North
86.6% approval · 745 decisions
Saddleworth South
89.5% approval · 658 decisions
Coldhurst
89.6% approval · 567 decisions
Chadderton North
87.9% approval · 405 decisions
Saint Mary's
91.3% approval · 401 decisions
Werneth
85.0% approval · 393 decisions
Chadderton Central
88.0% approval · 382 decisions
Failsworth East
91.2% approval · 328 decisions
Saddleworth West And Lees
89.2% approval · 325 decisions
Royton North
90.8% approval · 304 decisions
Chadderton South
89.9% approval · 297 decisions
Shaw
88.6% approval · 281 decisions
Royton South
92.1% approval · 277 decisions
Failsworth West
94.3% approval · 263 decisions
Medlock Vale
87.0% approval · 254 decisions
Alexandra
88.6% approval · 237 decisions
Hollinwood
81.3% approval · 225 decisions
Crompton
91.7% approval · 218 decisions
Waterhead
93.8% approval · 210 decisions
Saint James'
88.1% approval · 201 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Oldham, showing how the council decides real applications.
Single storey rear extension. · Waterhead · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Change of Use from dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to Residential Institution for a · Shaw · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Single storey rear extension. · Medlock Vale · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Oldham, 1 in 9 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 7,038 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Oldham
What is the planning approval rate in Oldham?
Based on 7,038 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Oldham approved 89.0% of applications and refused 11.0%. The council is ranked 104th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Oldham?
Oldham refuses 11.0% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 9. That is close to the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 7,038 decided applications since 2020, 777 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 (94.3%), Waterhead (93.8%), and Royton South (92.1%). 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 (5,124 decisions, 89.9% approved), Other (961, 86.8%), and Advertisement (228, 80.7%).
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 6,976 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 1,173 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 7,038 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.