Wakefield Council approves 89.7% of planning applications, based on 12,601 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Wakefield sits 1.7 percentage points above the national average.
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 Wakefield.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 7,394 | 648 | 8,042 | 91.9% |
| Other | 1,548 | 125 | 1,673 | 92.5% |
| Trees | 705 | 391 | 1,096 | 64.3% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 826 | 52 | 878 | 94.1% |
| Advertisement | 397 | 54 | 451 | 88.0% |
| Listed Building | 305 | 17 | 322 | 94.7% |
| Change of Use | 132 | 3 | 135 | 97.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield Rural | 986 | 137 | 1,123 | 87.8% |
| Wakefield North | 846 | 89 | 935 | 90.5% |
| Wakefield South | 765 | 99 | 864 | 88.5% |
| Ackworth, North Elmsall And Upton | 707 | 110 | 817 | 86.5% |
| Pontefract North | 632 | 72 | 704 | 89.8% |
| Crofton, Ryhill And Walton | 599 | 95 | 694 | 86.3% |
| Wrenthorpe And Outwood West | 627 | 63 | 690 | 90.9% |
| Ossett | 615 | 62 | 677 | 90.8% |
| Horbury And South Ossett | 598 | 77 | 675 | 88.6% |
| Stanley And Outwood East | 563 | 50 | 613 | 91.8% |
| Pontefract South | 499 | 64 | 563 | 88.6% |
| Castleford Central And Glasshoughton | 518 | 34 | 552 | 93.8% |
| Wakefield East | 469 | 57 | 526 | 89.2% |
| Altofts And Whitwood | 460 | 33 | 493 | 93.3% |
| Wakefield West | 412 | 49 | 461 | 89.4% |
| Normanton | 400 | 43 | 443 | 90.3% |
| South Elmsall And South Kirkby | 381 | 37 | 418 | 91.1% |
| Featherstone | 354 | 41 | 395 | 89.6% |
| Hemsworth | 351 | 36 | 387 | 90.7% |
| Knottingley | 271 | 25 | 296 | 91.6% |
| Airedale And Ferry Fryston | 246 | 16 | 262 | 93.9% |
How Wakefield’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 0.7pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Wakefield council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/00134/FUL Crofton, Ryhill And Walton | First floor extension to front and rear & partial garage conversion | Approved |
| 26/00101/FUL Wakefield North | Single storey front extension | Approved |
| 26/00211/CPL Normanton | Replacing existing conservatory with a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 26/00030/FUL Ossett | The proposed works comprise removal of 2no. existing antennas and replacement wi | Approved |
| 26/00031/LBC Ossett | The proposed works comprise removal of 2no. existing antennas and replacement wi | Approved |
| 26/00054/FUL Wakefield North | Erection of an outbuilding in the rear garden for personal use | Approved |
| 25/02390/FUL Stanley And Outwood East | Proposed two-storey extension to front | Approved |
| 25/02326/FUL Horbury And South Ossett | Part 2 storey part single storey extension with juliet balcony to front, 2 store | Approved |
| 25/02228/FUL Stanley And Outwood East | Two storey side extension | Approved |
| 26/00013/FUL Castleford Central And Glasshoughton | Single storey extension to side and rear | 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 Wakefield's 12,601 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Wakefield's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Wakefield'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 Wakefield. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 12,601 real decisions from Wakefield 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 Wakefield'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 12,601 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Wakefield is 89.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 12,601 planning decisions from Wakefield council. 11,309 were approved and 1,292 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Wakefield is 89.7%, 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.