Plymouth Council approves 93.1% of planning applications, based on 7,031 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Plymouth sits 4.8 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,060 decided applications, Plymouth Council approved 92.5% of planning applications in 2025. Across 7,031 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Plymouth is 93.1%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Plymouth council planning portal records · Updated June 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 Plymouth.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 3,589 | 300 | 3,889 | 92.3% |
| Trees | 1,204 | 54 | 1,258 | 95.7% |
| Other | 812 | 88 | 900 | 90.2% |
| Listed Building | 423 | 17 | 440 | 96.1% |
| Advertisement | 267 | 14 | 281 | 95.0% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 248 | 15 | 263 | 94.3% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Peter And The Waterfront | 970 | 45 | 1,015 | 95.6% |
| Compton | 539 | 50 | 589 | 91.5% |
| Plymstock Radford | 503 | 44 | 547 | 92.0% |
| Moorview | 423 | 27 | 450 | 94.0% |
| Stoke | 387 | 23 | 410 | 94.4% |
| Plympton St Mary | 353 | 29 | 382 | 92.4% |
| Plymstock Dunstone | 361 | 20 | 381 | 94.8% |
| Peverell | 332 | 21 | 353 | 94.1% |
| Budshead | 326 | 26 | 352 | 92.6% |
| Eggbuckland | 300 | 30 | 330 | 90.9% |
| Drake | 276 | 19 | 295 | 93.6% |
| Plympton Erle | 272 | 11 | 283 | 96.1% |
| Devonport | 252 | 21 | 273 | 92.3% |
| Sutton And Mount Gould | 251 | 20 | 271 | 92.6% |
| Southway | 203 | 18 | 221 | 91.9% |
| St Budeaux | 186 | 24 | 210 | 88.6% |
| Efford And Lipson | 175 | 27 | 202 | 86.6% |
| Honicknowle | 168 | 17 | 185 | 90.8% |
| HAM | 134 | 10 | 144 | 93.1% |
| Plympton Chaddlewood | 128 | 6 | 134 | 95.5% |
How Plymouth’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 0.2pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Plymouth council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00084/FUL Devonport | Removal of existing roof covering and supporting frame works to S109 and install | Approved |
| 26/00580/EXUS Stoke | Establish use of the property as 3 flats (Class C3). | Approved |
| 26/00558/FUL Plympton St Mary | Infilling of existing car-port to restore garden area | Approved |
| 26/00272/FUL Eggbuckland | Creation of new parking spaces to the rear of Miles Mitchell Avenue. | Refused |
| 26/00599/PRDE Peverell | Conversion of existing loft creating a new gable end and rear dormer | Approved |
| 26/00543/GPD Drake | Prior approval for change of use from Class E to a dwelling (Class C3) | Approved |
| 26/00405/FUL Plymstock Dunstone | Single storey rear extension | Approved |
| 26/00582/FUL Sutton And Mount Gould | Change of use of office/ shop (Class E) to 1-bedroom ground floor flat and assoc | Approved |
| 26/00596/FUL Plympton Chaddlewood | Single storey kitchen extension | Approved |
| 26/00578/FUL Plympton Chaddlewood | Demolition of existing conservatory, formation of 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 Plymouth's 7,031 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Plymouth's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Plymouth'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 Plymouth. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 7,031 real decisions from Plymouth 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 Plymouth'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 7,031 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Plymouth is 93.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 7,031 planning decisions from Plymouth council. 6,543 were approved and 488 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Plymouth is 93.1%, 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 Plymouth? 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.