Swindon Council approves 94.8% of planning applications, based on 4,413 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Swindon sits 6.5 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 195 decided applications, Swindon Council approved 95.4% of planning applications in 2025. Across 4,413 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Swindon is 94.8%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Swindon 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 Swindon.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 1,672 | 133 | 1,805 | 92.6% |
| Trees | 1,059 | 4 | 1,063 | 99.6% |
| Other | 726 | 56 | 782 | 92.8% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 565 | 31 | 596 | 94.8% |
| Advertisement | 102 | 3 | 105 | 97.1% |
| Listed Building | 37 | 0 | 37 | 100.0% |
| Prior Approval | 15 | 2 | 17 | 88.2% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 6 | 0 | 6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Applicable | 459 | 2 | 461 | 99.6% |
| Blunsdon And Highworth | 325 | 15 | 340 | 95.6% |
| Ridgeway | 251 | 14 | 265 | 94.7% |
| Old Town | 239 | 9 | 248 | 96.4% |
| St Margaret And South Marston | 216 | 10 | 226 | 95.6% |
| Chiseldon And Lawn | 199 | 8 | 207 | 96.1% |
| Eastcott | 190 | 13 | 203 | 93.6% |
| Wroughton And Wichelstowe | 193 | 7 | 200 | 96.5% |
| Central | 167 | 9 | 176 | 94.9% |
| St Andrews | 158 | 5 | 163 | 96.9% |
| Haydon Wick | 145 | 10 | 155 | 93.5% |
| Gorse Hill & Pinehurst | 128 | 14 | 142 | 90.1% |
| Rodbourne Cheney | 119 | 8 | 127 | 93.7% |
| Old Town & Lawn | 113 | 3 | 116 | 97.4% |
| Shaw | 94 | 6 | 100 | 94.0% |
| Penhill And Upper Stratton | 83 | 6 | 89 | 93.3% |
| Priory Vale | 84 | 5 | 89 | 94.4% |
| St Margaret | 78 | 8 | 86 | 90.7% |
| Wroughton & Chiseldon | 77 | 7 | 84 | 91.7% |
| Walcot And Park North | 72 | 4 | 76 | 94.7% |
| Covingham And Dorcan | 71 | 4 | 75 | 94.7% |
| Lydiard And Freshbrook | 66 | 3 | 69 | 95.7% |
| Liden, Eldene And Park South | 67 | 2 | 69 | 97.1% |
| Western | 57 | 3 | 60 | 95.0% |
| Mannington And Western | 55 | 4 | 59 | 93.2% |
Showing top 25 of 45 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Swindon’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 0.5pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Swindon council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| S/26/0598 Badbury Park, Eldene & Liden | Installation of temporary mobile ward units and temporary fire walls, together w | Approved |
| S/HOU/26/0530 Highworth | Demolition of existing lean-to store room and erection of new single storey exte | Approved |
| S/HOU/26/0491 Gorse Hill | Erection of a two storey rear extension. | Approved |
| S/26/0410 Eastcott | Erection of a third storey onto existing building with new pitched roof for 1no | Approved |
| S/HOU/26/0568 Old Town & Lawn | Erection of single storey rear extension and part garage conversion. | Approved |
| S/HOU/26/0560 Shaw & Westlea | Erection of single storey extension to front and rear elevations together with i | Approved |
| S/HOU/26/0536 Lower Stratton | Erection of single storey rear extension, conversion of garage into habitable sp | Approved |
| S/LBC/26/0532 Shaw & Westlea | Ground and first floor internal alterations. | Approved |
| S/HOU/26/0577 Rodbourne Ferndale & Western | Relocation of existing parking spaces to front of property using existing access | Approved |
| S/HOU/26/0564 Rodbourne Ferndale & Western | Erection of single storey rear extension to replace existing conservatory. | 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 Swindon's 4,413 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Swindon's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Swindon'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 Swindon. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 4,413 real decisions from Swindon 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 Swindon'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 4,413 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Swindon is 94.8%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 4,413 planning decisions from Swindon council. 4,184 were approved and 229 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Swindon is 94.8%, 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 Swindon? 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.