Oxford Council approves 87.5% of planning applications, based on 3,573 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Oxford sits 2.5 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 3,573 decided applications on record (January 2020 to October 2026), Oxford Council approved 87.5% of planning applications. The national average approval rate across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Oxford council planning portal records · Data to 2 October 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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 Oxford.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 2,413 | 348 | 2,761 | 87.4% |
| Trees | 1,433 | 8 | 1,441 | 99.4% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 927 | 20 | 947 | 97.9% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 555 | 125 | 680 | 81.6% |
| Other | 277 | 29 | 306 | 90.5% |
| Listed Building | 286 | 6 | 292 | 97.9% |
| Advertisement | 124 | 16 | 140 | 88.6% |
| Prior Approval | 11 | 4 | 15 | 73.3% |
| Change of Use | 12 | 2 | 14 | 85.7% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summertown | 420 | 22 | 442 | 95.0% |
| Holywell | 432 | 4 | 436 | 99.1% |
| Headington | 322 | 37 | 359 | 89.7% |
| Headington Hill And Northway | 291 | 35 | 326 | 89.3% |
| Wolvercote | 285 | 11 | 296 | 96.3% |
| Marston | 250 | 35 | 285 | 87.7% |
| Quarry And Risinghurst | 249 | 32 | 281 | 88.6% |
| Carfax | 261 | 12 | 273 | 95.6% |
| Cowley | 224 | 43 | 267 | 83.9% |
| Carfax And Jericho | 253 | 7 | 260 | 97.3% |
| Walton Manor | 246 | 5 | 251 | 98.0% |
| North | 239 | 4 | 243 | 98.4% |
| St Clement's | 216 | 25 | 241 | 89.6% |
| St Marys | 220 | 13 | 233 | 94.4% |
| Rose Hill And Iffley | 188 | 26 | 214 | 87.9% |
| Jericho And Osney | 190 | 18 | 208 | 91.3% |
| Lye Valley | 161 | 39 | 200 | 80.5% |
| St Margarets | 193 | 6 | 199 | 97.0% |
| Littlemore | 172 | 24 | 196 | 87.8% |
| Churchill | 161 | 25 | 186 | 86.6% |
| Osney And St. Thomas | 146 | 13 | 159 | 91.8% |
| Cowley Marsh | 114 | 26 | 140 | 81.4% |
| Hinksey Park | 125 | 13 | 138 | 90.6% |
| Cutteslowe And Sunnymead | 121 | 7 | 128 | 94.5% |
| Blackbird Leys | 100 | 21 | 121 | 82.6% |
Showing top 25 of 30 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Oxford’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 0.5pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Oxford council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/01991/FUL Cutteslowe And Sunnymead | Erection of a single storey rear and side extension. | Approved |
| 26/01927/LBC Osney And St. Thomas | Internal alterations to layout. Installation of blinds internally to windows. Ex | Approved |
| 26/01931/LBC Osney And St. Thomas | Internal alterations to layout. Installation of blinds internally to windows. Ex | Approved |
| 26/01896/FUL Cutteslowe And Sunnymead | Part demolition of existing rear extension. Erection of a single storey rear ext | Approved |
| 26/01960/FUL Holywell | Erection of an outbuilding to house air source heat pump system and associated w | Approved |
| 26/01949/FUL Osney And St. Thomas | Change of Use from Commercial, Business and Service (Class E) to Local Community | Approved |
| 26/01947/FUL Osney And St. Thomas | Change of use from restaurant (Use Class E(b)) to mixed use cafe and virtual rea | Approved |
| 26/01786/FUL Temple Cowley | Erection of a single storey rear infil extension. | Approved |
| 26/01583/FUL Marston | Demolition of the existing outbuilding and erection of a single storey outbuildi | Approved |
| 26/00796/FUL Carfax And Jericho | Change of use to capsule hotel (Use Class C1), alteration rooftop to include roo | Approved |
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 Oxford's 3,573 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Oxford's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Oxford'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 Oxford. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 3,573 real decisions from Oxford 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 Oxford'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 3,573 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Oxford is 87.5%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 3,573 planning decisions from Oxford council. 3,128 were approved and 445 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, January 2020 to October 2026.
The average approval rate in Oxford is 87.5%, 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.
Writing about planning in Oxford? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.