Swansea Council approves 86.1% of planning applications, based on 2,873 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Swansea sits 1.8 percentage points below 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 Swansea.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 1,151 | 238 | 1,389 | 82.9% |
| Other | 687 | 122 | 809 | 84.9% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 396 | 7 | 403 | 98.3% |
| Prior Approval | 141 | 16 | 157 | 89.8% |
| Advertisement | 86 | 14 | 100 | 86.0% |
| Trees | 12 | 0 | 12 | 100.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle - Bay Area | 206 | 17 | 223 | 92.4% |
| Sketty - Bay Area | 174 | 29 | 203 | 85.7% |
| Gower - Area 2 | 174 | 27 | 201 | 86.6% |
| Llansamlet - Area 1 | 133 | 14 | 147 | 90.5% |
| Morriston - Area 1 | 112 | 14 | 126 | 88.9% |
| Oystermouth - Bay Area | 86 | 29 | 115 | 74.8% |
| Cockett - Area 1 | 92 | 17 | 109 | 84.4% |
| Uplands - Bay Area | 80 | 25 | 105 | 76.2% |
| West Cross - Bay Area | 78 | 17 | 95 | 82.1% |
| Pennard - Area 2 | 75 | 8 | 83 | 90.4% |
| Mynyddbach - Area 1 | 63 | 13 | 76 | 82.9% |
| St. Thomas - Bay Area | 63 | 11 | 74 | 85.1% |
| Clydach - Area 1 | 64 | 9 | 73 | 87.7% |
| Pontarddulais - Area 1 | 60 | 11 | 71 | 84.5% |
| Newton - Area 2 | 65 | 4 | 69 | 94.2% |
| Penderry - Area 1 | 63 | 3 | 66 | 95.5% |
| Penyrheol - Area 2 | 52 | 12 | 64 | 81.2% |
| Penclawdd - Area 2 | 46 | 16 | 62 | 74.2% |
| Llangyfelach - Area 1 | 56 | 6 | 62 | 90.3% |
| Bishopston - Area 2 | 48 | 13 | 61 | 78.7% |
| Landore - Area 1 | 55 | 5 | 60 | 91.7% |
| Mayals - Bay Area | 48 | 11 | 59 | 81.4% |
| Dunvant - Area 2 | 50 | 7 | 57 | 87.7% |
| Gowerton - Area 2 | 47 | 8 | 55 | 85.5% |
| Kingsbridge - Area 2 | 45 | 8 | 53 | 84.9% |
Showing top 25 of 42 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →Real residential planning decisions from Swansea council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/0259/NMA Townhill - Area 1 | Demolition of the existing kitchen/dining hall block and construction of a new d | Approved |
| 2026/0113/FUL Clydach - Area 1 | Canopy to the rear of the Clych building enclosed with rear and side roller shut | Approved |
| 2026/0104/NMA Penllergaer - Area 1 | Erection of 166 dwellings with associated access, landscaping, open space, green | Approved |
| 2026/0230/NMA Castle - Bay Area | External re-cladding of facade of four existing residential blocks - Non Materia | Approved |
| 2026/0121/FUL Llansamlet - Area 1 | Amendments to detached garage approved under planning application 2019/2833/FUL, | Approved |
| 2026/0091/FUL Llansamlet - Area 1 | Internal refurbishment, minor alterations and new door and window openings | Approved |
| 2026/0016/FUL Pennard - Area 2 | Single storey side and rear extension and front and rear rooflights | Approved |
| 2026/0076/NMA Clydach - Area 1 | Residential development comprising 70 dwelling houses with associated roads and | Approved |
| 2026/0077/NMA Uplands - Bay Area | Residential redevelopment of the site including conversion of 1912 building (par | Approved |
| 2026/0102/NMA Castle - Bay Area | Multi storey car park North of Oystermouth Road, commercial units and detached r | 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 Swansea's 2,873 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
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Dig deeper into Swansea's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 2,873 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Swansea is 86.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 2,873 planning decisions from Swansea council. 2,474 were approved and 399 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Swansea is 86.1%, 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.