Swansea Council approves 83.1% of planning applications, based on 2,449 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Swansea sits 1.9 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 313 decided applications, Swansea Council approved 87.9% of planning applications in 2025. Across 2,449 decisions on record (March 2006 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Swansea is 83.1%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Swansea council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 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 Swansea.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 1,690 | 365 | 2,055 | 82.2% |
| Other | 851 | 143 | 994 | 85.6% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 607 | 14 | 621 | 97.7% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 87 | 85 | 172 | 50.6% |
| Prior Approval | 141 | 16 | 157 | 89.8% |
| Advertisement | 114 | 20 | 134 | 85.1% |
| Listed Building | 30 | 1 | 31 | 96.8% |
| Trees | 29 | 0 | 29 | 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, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle - Bay Area | 310 | 30 | 340 | 91.2% |
| Gower - Area 2 | 265 | 36 | 301 | 88.0% |
| Sketty - Bay Area | 254 | 40 | 294 | 86.4% |
| Uplands - Bay Area | 160 | 62 | 222 | 72.1% |
| Llansamlet - Area 1 | 169 | 23 | 192 | 88.0% |
| Morriston - Area 1 | 154 | 23 | 177 | 87.0% |
| Mumbles - Area 2 | 109 | 33 | 142 | 76.8% |
| Pennard - Area 2 | 118 | 14 | 132 | 89.4% |
| Oystermouth - Bay Area | 87 | 33 | 120 | 72.5% |
| West Cross - Bay Area | 95 | 23 | 118 | 80.5% |
| Cockett - Area 1 | 92 | 18 | 110 | 83.6% |
| Landore - Area 1 | 91 | 10 | 101 | 90.1% |
| Clydach - Area 1 | 88 | 11 | 99 | 88.9% |
| Bishopston - Area 2 | 77 | 21 | 98 | 78.6% |
| St. Thomas - Bay Area | 83 | 14 | 97 | 85.6% |
| Mynyddbach - Area 1 | 74 | 20 | 94 | 78.7% |
| Llangyfelach - Area 1 | 85 | 9 | 94 | 90.4% |
| Mayals - Bay Area | 71 | 18 | 89 | 79.8% |
| Penclawdd - Area 2 | 64 | 24 | 88 | 72.7% |
| Pontarddulais - Area 1 | 73 | 14 | 87 | 83.9% |
| Penderry - Area 1 | 75 | 4 | 79 | 94.9% |
| Gowerton - Area 2 | 64 | 14 | 78 | 82.1% |
| Bonymaen - Area 1 | 62 | 7 | 69 | 89.9% |
| Newton - Area 2 | 65 | 4 | 69 | 94.2% |
| Penllergaer - Area 1 | 58 | 8 | 66 | 87.9% |
Showing top 25 of 44 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Swansea’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 3.9pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/1467/DOC Castle - Bay Area | Construction of a drive thru restaurant (Class A3), alterations to Retail Park c | Approved |
| 2026/1343/ELD Castle - Bay Area | Use of property as a 6 bedroom HMO (Class C4) (application for a Certificate of | Approved |
| 2026/1275/FUL Clydach - Area 1 | Two storey rear extension | Approved |
| 2026/1273/FUL Bonymaen - Area 1 | Retention and completion of single storey side / rear extension | Approved |
| 2026/1259/FUL St. Thomas - Bay Area | The proposal seeks to convert eighty-four car parking bays to provide ten short | Approved |
| 2026/1068/ELD St. Thomas - Bay Area | Use of 116 Port Tennant Road as a single dwellinghouse (application for a Certif | Approved |
| 2026/0365/FUL Cockett - Bay Area | Construction of detached store (Amended Plans Received) | Approved |
| 2025/2200/FUL Cwmbwrla - Area 1 | Change of use of first floor from a single residential flat to 5 temporary accom | Approved |
| 2026/1471/NMA Sketty - Bay Area | Replacement dwelling - Non Material Amendment to Planning Permission 2026/0629/S | Refused |
| 2026/1283/FUL Waunarlwydd - Bay Area | Rear two storey kitchen/bedroom 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 Swansea's 2,449 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Swansea's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Swansea'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 Swansea. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 2,449 real decisions from Swansea 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 Swansea'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 2,449 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Swansea is 83.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 2,449 planning decisions from Swansea council. 2,036 were approved and 413 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, March 2006 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Swansea is 83.1%, 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 Swansea? 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.