Which council has the highest planning approval rate in the UK?

Fareham has the highest approval rate at 99.1% based on 2,490 decisions.

Which council is hardest to get planning permission from?

Of the councils we track, East Hertfordshire has the lowest approval rate at 73.2% based on 16,563 decisions.

What is the average planning approval rate in the UK?

Across 215 councils and 2,466,445 decisions, the average approval rate is 89.9%. But rates vary enormously by council, ward and project type.

Hardest and Easiest Councils for Planning Permission

10 Easiest Councils for Planning Permission

These councils approve the highest proportion of applications. But a high council-wide rate doesn't guarantee your application will sail through — ward and proposal type shift the odds significantly.

#	Council	Decisions	Rate
1	Fareham	2,490	99.1%
2	Aberdeenshire	1,022	98.8%
3	Mansfield	2,946	98.8%
4	City of London	9,789	98.7%
5	North Ayrshire	999	98.7%
6	Somerset	553	98.7%
7	LLDC	3,226	98.6%
8	Falkirk	545	98.5%
9	Monmouthshire	1,350	98.4%
10	Shetland	6,267	98.4%

Found your council? See what's happening at street level →

10 Hardest Councils for Planning Permission

These councils have the toughest track records. If your property falls in one of these areas, understanding your local data before applying isn't optional — it's essential.

#	Council	Decisions	Rate
1	East Hertfordshire	16,563	73.2%
2	Maldon	3,963	75.3%
3	Brent	32,531	76.0%
4	Greenwich	22,217	78.1%
5	Bradford	26,787	78.8%
6	Hillingdon	30,009	78.9%
7	Redbridge	33,149	79.0%
8	Waltham Forest	21,278	79.1%
9	Havering	23,213	79.3%
10	Barking & Dagenham	9,122	79.3%

Found your council? See what's happening at street level →

All 215 Councils Ranked

#	Council	Decisions	Rate
1	Fareham	2,490	99.1%
2	Aberdeenshire	1,022	98.8%
3	Mansfield	2,946	98.8%
4	City of London	9,789	98.7%
5	North Ayrshire	999	98.7%
6	Somerset	553	98.7%
7	LLDC	3,226	98.6%
8	Falkirk	545	98.5%
9	Monmouthshire	1,350	98.4%
10	Shetland	6,267	98.4%
11	Moray	1,150	98.3%
12	Clackmannanshire	965	98.2%
13	Dumfries & Galloway	22,558	97.7%
14	Gosport	1,526	97.6%
15	OPDC	1,230	97.3%
16	South Ribble	438	97.3%
17	Carlisle	4,219	97.1%
18	South Lanarkshire	25,858	96.9%
19	South Norfolk	3,731	96.8%
20	Hambleton	4,027	96.5%
21	Rushmoor	4,157	96.5%
22	Angus	13,888	96.1%
23	Orkney	7,933	96.0%
24	Cheltenham	13,600	95.9%
25	Huntingdonshire	4,137	95.9%
26	Argyll & Bute	3,738	95.7%
27	Midlothian	951	95.7%
28	Cotswold	23,108	95.6%
29	East Ayrshire	1,112	95.6%
30	Lincoln	6,781	95.3%
31	South Tyneside	3,235	95.3%
32	Stirling	12,182	95.2%
33	Stockton-on-Tees	2,158	95.2%
34	County Durham	14,377	95.0%
35	Winchester	6,515	94.9%
36	Broxtowe	4,581	94.7%
37	Tamworth	5,798	94.7%
38	North Norfolk	2,008	94.6%
39	North Northamptonshire	4,238	94.6%
40	Knowsley	4,280	94.5%
41	North York Moors	3,130	94.5%
42	Perth & Kinross	22,100	94.5%
43	Highland	1,987	94.4%
44	North Tyneside	5,719	94.4%
45	South Holland	1,293	94.4%
46	Aberdeen	21,448	94.3%
47	Swindon	3,908	94.3%
48	West Oxfordshire	6,435	94.3%
49	Broadland	3,348	94.1%
50	Dundee	10,343	94.1%
51	Mid Sussex	7,819	94.0%
52	North East Lincolnshire	3,036	94.0%
53	Rugby	6,135	94.0%
54	Cornwall	6,212	93.9%
55	Yorkshire Dales NPA	4,168	93.9%
56	Gateshead	7,156	93.8%
57	Stevenage	3,606	93.8%
58	Arun	2,451	93.7%
59	Derbyshire Dales	3,869	93.7%
60	Newcastle-under-Lyme	526	93.7%
61	Nottingham	6,278	93.6%
62	Wandsworth	26,261	93.5%
63	Derby	3,995	93.4%
64	Bath & NE Somerset	36,819	93.3%
65	Lancaster	4,014	93.3%
66	Southwark	28,675	93.3%
67	Adur & Worthing	13,786	93.2%
68	Chorley	3,509	93.2%
69	Dover	6,755	93.2%
70	King's Lynn & West Norfolk	2,011	93.2%
71	South Downs	10,511	93.2%
72	Torridge	8,020	93.2%
73	Bromsgrove & Redditch	1,868	93.1%
74	Newcastle upon Tyne	8,785	93.1%
75	Plymouth	6,550	93.0%
76	Three Rivers	3,012	93.0%
77	Sandwell	6,354	92.9%
78	Solihull	4,406	92.9%
79	Rotherham	2,503	92.7%
80	Norwich	8,179	92.6%
81	Kensington & Chelsea	33,175	92.5%
82	Dorset	8,267	92.4%
83	Telford & Wrekin	15,051	92.4%
84	Torfaen	4,592	92.4%
85	Gedling	4,194	92.3%
86	Camden	19,373	92.1%
87	Hammersmith & Fulham	19,357	92.1%
88	Exmoor NPA	1,828	92.0%
89	Darlington	2,301	91.6%
90	Lewes & Eastbourne	1,948	91.5%
91	Oxford	5,477	91.5%
92	Doncaster	11,315	91.4%
93	Bury	4,896	91.2%
94	Horsham	12,372	91.2%
95	Lake District NPA	7,872	91.2%
96	Test Valley	5,558	91.2%
97	Great Yarmouth	2,418	91.0%
98	Tewkesbury	6,410	91.0%
99	Rossendale	453	90.9%
100	Sheffield	6,165	90.8%
101	Tendring	316	90.8%
102	Westminster	60,698	90.8%
103	Fife	5,321	90.7%
104	Southampton	1,007	90.7%
105	West Lothian	13,423	90.7%
106	Forest of Dean	6,046	90.6%
107	East Cambridgeshire	10,928	90.5%
108	Exeter	6,750	90.5%
109	Pembrokeshire Coast NPA	2,969	90.5%
110	Spelthorne	717	90.5%
111	Surrey Heath	4,021	90.5%
112	Cambridge	5,770	90.4%
113	North East Derbyshire	6,406	90.3%
114	Tonbridge & Malling	10,563	90.3%
115	York	10,877	90.3%
116	Luton	3,235	90.2%
117	North Somerset	19,330	90.2%
118	Basildon	578	90.1%
119	South Ayrshire	364	90.1%
120	Barnsley	24,616	90.0%
121	Newport	4,824	90.0%
122	Cannock Chase	2,556	89.9%
123	Basingstoke & Deane	11,049	89.8%
124	Brighton & Hove	3,163	89.8%
125	Wakefield	12,601	89.7%
126	Warwick	12,594	89.7%
127	Wigan	4,758	89.6%
128	Dudley	13,083	89.4%
129	Kingston upon Hull	6,152	89.4%
130	Maidstone	418	89.2%
131	Swale	416	89.2%
132	Cheshire East	12,643	89.0%
133	Tower Hamlets	26,296	89.0%
134	Rushcliffe	7,470	88.8%
135	Liverpool	48,035	88.6%
136	Oldham	6,836	88.6%
137	Reigate & Banstead	13,287	88.6%
138	Sunderland	10,482	88.6%
139	Portsmouth	9,214	88.5%
140	Haringey	23,488	88.4%
141	Dartford	7,102	88.2%
142	Isle of Wight	14,098	88.2%
143	Trafford	13,295	88.2%
144	Glasgow	39,359	88.1%
145	Ceredigion	37,412	87.9%
146	Epsom & Ewell	8,139	87.9%
147	Manchester	13,750	87.9%
148	Babergh Mid Suffolk	329	87.8%
149	Bolton	3,753	87.8%
150	Hounslow	72,195	87.7%
151	New Forest	8,940	87.7%
152	Calderdale	13,254	87.6%
153	Sefton	6,453	87.5%
154	Newark & Sherwood	9,966	87.4%
155	Richmond	32,316	87.3%
156	Runnymede	13,387	87.2%
157	Tameside	3,465	87.1%
158	Thanet	27,009	87.1%
159	Bristol	24,529	86.9%
160	South Gloucestershire	15,285	86.9%
161	Sevenoaks	12,687	86.8%
162	Castle Point	2,500	86.7%
163	Hackney	18,634	86.6%
164	Leeds	44,615	86.6%
165	Dartmoor NPA	4,244	86.4%
166	Gravesham	550	86.4%
167	Hastings	5,869	86.4%
168	Flintshire	5,930	86.3%
169	Kirklees	29,619	86.3%
170	Swansea	2,873	86.1%
171	Ealing	67,567	86.0%
172	Merton	17,557	85.9%
173	Chelmsford	505	85.7%
174	Hart	9,970	85.5%
175	Windsor & Maidenhead	6,575	85.2%
176	Gloucester	4,057	85.1%
177	Hertsmere	3,094	85.1%
178	Bexley	20,572	84.9%
179	Lichfield	2,583	84.9%
180	Blackpool	554	84.7%
181	Newham	20,907	84.7%
182	Lambeth	30,422	84.6%
183	Sutton	17,407	83.9%
184	Birmingham	33,111	83.8%
185	Brentwood	11,640	83.8%
186	Coventry	1,909	83.8%
187	Leicester	538	83.3%
188	Caerphilly	1,944	83.2%
189	Middlesbrough	3,412	83.1%
190	Selby	5,669	83.0%
191	Lewisham	24,367	82.9%
192	Islington	85,229	82.8%
193	Slough	6,928	82.2%
194	Cardiff	4,367	81.9%
195	Barnet	53,415	81.8%
196	Guildford	16,972	81.7%
197	Wyre	405	81.2%
198	Bromley	36,212	80.9%
199	Croydon	38,435	80.8%
200	Pembrokeshire	5,895	80.7%
201	Harrow	12,600	80.6%
202	Kingston	23,239	80.0%
203	Thurrock	10,618	80.0%
204	Enfield	29,826	79.8%
205	Southend-on-Sea	587	79.4%
206	Barking & Dagenham	9,122	79.3%
207	Havering	23,213	79.3%
208	Waltham Forest	21,278	79.1%
209	Redbridge	33,149	79.0%
210	Hillingdon	30,009	78.9%
211	Bradford	26,787	78.8%
212	Greenwich	22,217	78.1%
213	Brent	32,531	76.0%
214	Maldon	3,963	75.3%
215	East Hertfordshire	16,563	73.2%

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What the data tells us

1

The gap between councils is enormous. Fareham approves 99.1% of applications. East Hertfordshire approves just 73.2%. Same country, completely different planning environments.

2

Council averages mask what actually matters. A council with a 78% approval rate still refuses thousands of applications. The difference between approval and refusal comes down to your specific ward, your neighbours, and your proposal.

3

National averages hide local variation. These rankings are a useful starting point, but the decisions that predict your outcome are the ones near your property — not the ones across the borough.

Hardest and Easiest Councils for Planning Permission

Check Your Postcode for Approval Chances

10 Easiest Councils for Planning Permission

10 Hardest Councils for Planning Permission

Your council's approval rate is just the starting point

All 215 Councils Ranked

What the data tells us

The UK average is meaningless. Your street isn't average.

More national planning data