Pendle Council approves 86.3% of planning applications, based on 2,714 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Pendle sits 1.3 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 622 decided applications, Pendle Council approved 87.1% of planning applications in 2025. Across 2,714 decisions on record (March 2021 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Pendle is 86.3%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Pendle council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 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 Pendle.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 1,936 | 315 | 2,251 | 86.0% |
| Trees | 531 | 35 | 566 | 93.8% |
| Other | 319 | 58 | 377 | 84.6% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 138 | 31 | 169 | 81.7% |
| Advertisement | 77 | 13 | 90 | 85.6% |
| Listed Building | 69 | 10 | 79 | 87.3% |
| Prior Approval | 54 | 5 | 59 | 91.5% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 1 | 25 | 26 | 3.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulsworth & Foulridge | 441 | 73 | 514 | 85.8% |
| Barrowford & Pendleside | 429 | 74 | 503 | 85.3% |
| Earby & Coates | 325 | 40 | 365 | 89.0% |
| Bradley | 258 | 33 | 291 | 88.7% |
| Barnoldswick | 226 | 30 | 256 | 88.3% |
| Whitefield & Walverden | 212 | 44 | 256 | 82.8% |
| Brierfield West & Reedley | 222 | 32 | 254 | 87.4% |
| Brierfield East & Clover Hill | 193 | 20 | 213 | 90.6% |
| Marsden & Southfield | 175 | 17 | 192 | 91.1% |
| Fence & Higham | 152 | 24 | 176 | 86.4% |
| Vivary Bridge | 141 | 33 | 174 | 81.0% |
| Waterside & Horsfield | 133 | 32 | 165 | 80.6% |
| Higham And Pendleside | 25 | 1 | 26 | 96.2% |
| Boulsworth | 22 | 3 | 25 | 88.0% |
| Reedley | 17 | 4 | 21 | 81.0% |
| Earby | 19 | 2 | 21 | 90.5% |
| Craven | 14 | 3 | 17 | 82.4% |
| Waterside | 10 | 6 | 16 | 62.5% |
| Brierfield | 11 | 5 | 16 | 68.8% |
| Old Laund Booth | 15 | 0 | 15 | 100.0% |
| Blacko And Higherford | 13 | 2 | 15 | 86.7% |
| Barrowford | 10 | 2 | 12 | 83.3% |
| Coates | 9 | 2 | 11 | 81.8% |
| Horsfield | 9 | 0 | 9 | 100.0% |
| Foulridge | 7 | 2 | 9 | 77.8% |
Showing top 25 of 30 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Pendle’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 0.8pp since 2021.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Pendle council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/0323/FUL Fence & Higham | Technical Details Consent: Change of use of agricultural land to residential use | Approved |
| 26/0515/HHO Marsden & Southfield | Full: Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Refused |
| 26/0500/HHO Whitefield & Walverden | Full: Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 26/0483/HHO Boulsworth & Foulridge | Full: Erection of an attached open-sided car port canopy over existing driveway. | Approved |
| 26/0633/TPO Earby & Coates | To reduce a group of Alder Trees in rear garden, the trees are along a stream ed | Approved |
| 26/0572/NMA Boulsworth & Foulridge | Non- Material Amendment: Alterations to external material to match existing of P | Refused |
| 26/0531/LHE Brierfield East & Clover Hill | Permitted Development Notification (Larger Home Extension): Erection of a single | Approved |
| 26/0507/HHO Marsden & Southfield | Full: Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 26/0503/FUL Fence & Higham | Full: Replacement of existing timber windows to UPVC and the retention of 18 no. | Approved |
| 26/0498/HHO Whitefield & Walverden | Full: Erection of a single storey rear extension. | 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 Pendle's 2,714 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Pendle's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Pendle'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 Pendle. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 2,714 real decisions from Pendle 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 Pendle'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 2,714 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Pendle is 86.3%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 2,714 planning decisions from Pendle council. 2,343 were approved and 371 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, March 2021 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Pendle is 86.3%, 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 Pendle? 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.