South Gloucestershire planning approval rate
South Gloucestershire council approved 86.9% of planning applications and refused 13.1%, based on 15,946 decisions analysed. Ranked 69th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
86.9%
overall approval rate
15,946
Decisions analysed
13,864
Approved
2,082
Refused
39
Wards covered
Planning in South Gloucestershire? 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 South Gloucestershire. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
85.4%
85.9%
96.1%
93.8%
73.4%
95.5%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in South Gloucestershire, mined from 15,946 proposal descriptions.
90.4%
76.8%
83.6%
87.0%
82.5%
84.7%
80.2%
84.5%
82.2%
91.9%
90.5%
78.8%
78.3%
83.8%
80.0%
89.7%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within South Gloucestershire. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Boyd Valley
85.4%
Frampton Cotterell
83.6%
Severn Vale
83.8%
Frenchay And Downend
89.3%
Chipping Sodbury And Cotswold Edge
89.7%
Filton
85.8%
Thornbury
90.1%
Winterbourne
86.1%
Bitton And Oldland Common
89.1%
Emersons Green
91.0%
Staple Hill And Mangotsfield
83.2%
Pilning And Severn Beach
87.1%
Hanham
87.1%
Stoke Gifford
89.7%
Charfield
85.6%
Longwell Green
87.6%
Yate North
89.4%
Charlton And Cribbs
92.3%
Bradley Stoke North
86.8%
Kingswood
87.3%
Wards in South Gloucestershire
Boyd Valley
85.4% approval · 1,481 decisions
Frampton Cotterell
83.6% approval · 1,466 decisions
Severn Vale
83.8% approval · 1,283 decisions
Frenchay And Downend
89.3% approval · 1,036 decisions
Chipping Sodbury And Cotswold Edge
89.7% approval · 987 decisions
Filton
85.8% approval · 858 decisions
Thornbury
90.1% approval · 737 decisions
Winterbourne
86.1% approval · 584 decisions
Bitton And Oldland Common
89.1% approval · 577 decisions
Emersons Green
91.0% approval · 577 decisions
Staple Hill And Mangotsfield
83.2% approval · 552 decisions
Pilning And Severn Beach
87.1% approval · 544 decisions
Hanham
87.1% approval · 510 decisions
Stoke Gifford
89.7% approval · 486 decisions
Charfield
85.6% approval · 431 decisions
Longwell Green
87.6% approval · 428 decisions
Yate North
89.4% approval · 417 decisions
Charlton And Cribbs
92.3% approval · 413 decisions
Bradley Stoke North
86.8% approval · 357 decisions
Kingswood
87.3% approval · 323 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in South Gloucestershire, showing how the council decides real applications.
The erection of a single storey rear extension, which would extend beyond the re · Thornbury · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Erection of single storey rear extension. · Staple Hill And Mangotsfield · Fri 14 Aug 2026
External alteration to repair the timber structure by replacing rotten timber to · Parkwall And Warmley · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In South Gloucestershire, 1 in 8 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 South Gloucestershire
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for South Gloucestershire →
✓ Common refusal reasons in South Gloucestershire
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 15,946 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in South Gloucestershire
What is the planning approval rate in South Gloucestershire?
Based on 15,946 planning decisions analysed since 2020, South Gloucestershire approved 86.9% of applications and refused 13.1%. The council is ranked 69th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in South Gloucestershire?
South Gloucestershire refuses 13.1% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 8. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 15,946 decided applications since 2020, 2,082 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of South Gloucestershire have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in South Gloucestershire are in Charlton And Cribbs (92.3%), Emersons Green (91.0%), and Thornbury (90.1%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in South Gloucestershire?
The most common planning application types in South Gloucestershire are: Full (9,386 decisions, 85.4% approved), Other (2,247, 85.9%), and Trees (1,777, 96.1%).
How long does a planning application take in South Gloucestershire?
Planning applications in South Gloucestershire take an average of 11.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 15,823 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. South Gloucestershire decides approximately 2,658 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in South Gloucestershire?
You can search planning applications in South Gloucestershire directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 15,946 historical decisions in South Gloucestershire to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for South Gloucestershire calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes South Gloucestershire'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.