Sheffield Council approves 90.8% of planning applications, based on 6,165 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Sheffield sits 2.9 percentage points above the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 Sheffield.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 3,174 | 328 | 3,502 | 90.6% |
| Trees | 1,419 | 36 | 1,455 | 97.5% |
| Other | 465 | 59 | 524 | 88.7% |
| Prior Approval | 124 | 78 | 202 | 61.4% |
| Advertisement | 164 | 24 | 188 | 87.2% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 119 | 31 | 150 | 79.3% |
| Listed Building | 92 | 8 | 100 | 92.0% |
| Change of Use | 40 | 4 | 44 | 90.9% |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nether Edge And Sharrow | 628 | 43 | 671 | 93.6% |
| Fulwood | 601 | 25 | 626 | 96.0% |
| Broomhill And Sharrow Vale | 538 | 32 | 570 | 94.4% |
| Dore & Totley | 468 | 46 | 514 | 91.1% |
| Ecclesall | 335 | 38 | 373 | 89.8% |
| City | 310 | 20 | 330 | 93.9% |
| Darnall | 235 | 28 | 263 | 89.4% |
| Stannington | 221 | 38 | 259 | 85.3% |
| Crookes And Crosspool | 206 | 25 | 231 | 89.2% |
| Stocksbridge & Upper Don | 188 | 26 | 214 | 87.9% |
| Graves Park | 176 | 23 | 199 | 88.4% |
| Beauchief & Greenhill | 178 | 14 | 192 | 92.7% |
| Hillsborough | 155 | 26 | 181 | 85.6% |
| West Ecclesfield | 137 | 16 | 153 | 89.5% |
| East Ecclesfield | 123 | 13 | 136 | 90.4% |
| Mosborough | 111 | 24 | 135 | 82.2% |
| Burngreave | 98 | 29 | 127 | 77.2% |
| Manor Castle | 117 | 8 | 125 | 93.6% |
| Woodhouse | 116 | 7 | 123 | 94.3% |
| Walkley | 118 | 5 | 123 | 95.9% |
| Beighton | 94 | 18 | 112 | 83.9% |
| Gleadless Valley | 71 | 13 | 84 | 84.5% |
| Birley | 77 | 6 | 83 | 92.8% |
| Richmond | 68 | 11 | 79 | 86.1% |
| Park And Arbourthorne | 63 | 9 | 72 | 87.5% |
Showing top 25 of 28 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →Real residential planning decisions from Sheffield council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00503/NMA Beauchief & Greenhill | Application to allow raising of existing dwelling ridge line and increase in len | Refused |
| 26/00106/NMA Broomhill And Sharrow Vale | Application to allow amendment to shopfront glazing specification and door arran | Approved |
| 26/00118/APN Stannington | Erection of agricultural storage barn (Application to determine if approval requ | Approved |
| 26/00224/TCA West Ecclesfield | Pruning and removal of trees (Grenoside Conservation Area) | Approved |
| 25/03692/HPN Crookes And Crosspool | Single-storey rear extension - the extension will be 6 metres from the rear of t | Refused |
| 25/03652/NMA Stannington | Application to allow alterations to loft conversion, amendment to single-storey | Refused |
| 25/03458/LD2 Beighton | Application for Lawful Development Certificate for erection of single-storey sid | Refused |
| 25/03462/FUL Burngreave | Hip to gable end roof extension to dwellinghouse | Refused |
| 25/03558/NMA Woodhouse | Application to allow addition of acoustic fence to plant area (amendment to plan | Approved |
| 25/03595/APN Fulwood | Erection of agricultural building extension to store fodder and implements (Appl | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Sheffield's 6,165 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
Get My Pro Report — £79Compare Sheffield's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Sheffield's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 6,165 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Sheffield is 90.8%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 6,165 planning decisions from Sheffield council. 5,597 were approved and 568 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Sheffield is 90.8%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.