Plymouth planning approval rate
Plymouth council approved 93.1% of planning applications and refused 6.9%, based on 7,239 decisions analysed. Ranked 194th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
93.1%
overall approval rate
7,239
Decisions analysed
6,737
Approved
502
Refused
20
Wards covered
Planning in Plymouth? 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 Plymouth. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
92.4%
95.7%
90.3%
96.3%
94.4%
93.6%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Plymouth, mined from 7,239 proposal descriptions.
97.2%
89.2%
96.5%
95.7%
92.4%
94.6%
93.8%
97.4%
93.6%
93.3%
96.7%
79.1%
97.8%
91.9%
96.3%
97.3%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Plymouth. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
ST PETER AND THE WATERFRONT
95.3%
COMPTON
91.7%
PLYMSTOCK RADFORD
91.8%
MOORVIEW
94.1%
STOKE
94.5%
PLYMPTON ST MARY
92.7%
PLYMSTOCK DUNSTONE
94.9%
PEVERELL
93.9%
BUDSHEAD
92.7%
EGGBUCKLAND
91.2%
DRAKE
93.8%
PLYMPTON ERLE
96.2%
DEVONPORT
91.8%
SUTTON AND MOUNT GOULD
92.7%
SOUTHWAY
91.3%
ST BUDEAUX
88.8%
EFFORD AND LIPSON
87.1%
HONICKNOWLE
90.5%
HAM
93.2%
PLYMPTON CHADDLEWOOD
95.0%
Wards in Plymouth
ST PETER AND THE WATERFRONT
95.3% approval · 1,067 decisions
COMPTON
91.7% approval · 605 decisions
PLYMSTOCK RADFORD
91.8% approval · 561 decisions
MOORVIEW
94.1% approval · 458 decisions
STOKE
94.5% approval · 420 decisions
PLYMPTON ST MARY
92.7% approval · 396 decisions
PLYMSTOCK DUNSTONE
94.9% approval · 390 decisions
PEVERELL
93.9% approval · 362 decisions
BUDSHEAD
92.7% approval · 357 decisions
EGGBUCKLAND
91.2% approval · 339 decisions
DRAKE
93.8% approval · 306 decisions
PLYMPTON ERLE
96.2% approval · 289 decisions
DEVONPORT
91.8% approval · 281 decisions
SUTTON AND MOUNT GOULD
92.7% approval · 275 decisions
SOUTHWAY
91.3% approval · 229 decisions
ST BUDEAUX
88.8% approval · 214 decisions
EFFORD AND LIPSON
87.1% approval · 209 decisions
HONICKNOWLE
90.5% approval · 189 decisions
HAM
93.2% approval · 148 decisions
PLYMPTON CHADDLEWOOD
95.0% approval · 140 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Plymouth, showing how the council decides real applications.
Ground floor single storey rear extension · HAM · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Use of property as 6 bedroom HMO (Class C4) · DRAKE · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Retrospective application for new outbuilding · EGGBUCKLAND · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Plymouth, 1 in 14 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 Plymouth
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Plymouth →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Plymouth
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 7,239 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Plymouth
What is the planning approval rate in Plymouth?
Based on 7,239 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Plymouth approved 93.1% of applications and refused 6.9%. The council is ranked 194th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Plymouth?
Plymouth refuses 6.9% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 14. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 7,239 decided applications since 2020, 502 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Plymouth have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Plymouth are in PLYMPTON ERLE (96.2%), ST PETER AND THE WATERFRONT (95.3%), and PLYMPTON CHADDLEWOOD (95.0%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Plymouth?
The most common planning application types in Plymouth are: Full (3,994 decisions, 92.4% approved), Trees (1,294, 95.7%), and Other (924, 90.3%).
How long does a planning application take in Plymouth?
Planning applications in Plymouth take an average of 9.0 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 7,188 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. Plymouth decides approximately 1,206 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Plymouth?
You can search planning applications in Plymouth directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 7,239 historical decisions in Plymouth to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Plymouth calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Plymouth'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.