Data-backed planning intelligence · 2,650,000+ decisions analysed across England, Scotland and Wales

Planning Approval Rates by Ward: Why Your Postcode Matters

Council-wide approval rates are useful context. But they hide the real story. Within a single council, the gap between the easiest and hardest ward can be bigger than the gap between the easiest and hardest council in the entire country.

2,592,681 real planning decisions·196 councils·Updated May 2026
93.0%
Biggest ward gap
13.7%
Average ward gap
196
Councils analysed
2,592,681
Total decisions

Check Your Postcode for Approval Chances

See your council's approval rate, your ward data and comparable decisions near your property.

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Councils With the Biggest Ward Gaps

These councils have the most dramatic variation between their best and worst performing wards. If you live in one of these areas, your postcode isn't just relevant — it's the single biggest factor in whether your application succeeds.

#CouncilBest WardWorst WardGap
1Islington8 (95.1%)48 (2.1%)93.0%
2Barking & DagenhamTHAMES (99.6%)Mayesbrook (58.1%)41.5%
3GreenwichCHARLTON (97.8%)ELTHAM PAGE (59.3%)38.5%
4LiverpoolWaterfront South (98.4%)Kensington & Fairfield (62.0%)36.4%
5HaveringGOOSHAYS (99.2%)St Albans (63.3%)35.9%
6CardiffCATHAYS (85.8%)LLANISHEN (50.4%)35.4%
7BrentDUDDEN HILL (99.3%)Harlesden - WARD NO LONGER EXISTS (64.5%)34.8%
8Hounslow013609 (99.0%)Hounslow Central (64.3%)34.7%
9EnfieldSOUTHGATE GREEN (98.2%)LE (64.7%)33.5%
10LewishamEVELYN (99.5%)Whitefoot (67.5%)32.0%
11MertonVILLAGE (98.4%)Cricket Green (67.2%)31.2%
12LambethPRINCE'S (98.5%)GIPSYH (67.6%)30.9%
13CroydonSELHURST (98.8%)SE18 (68.2%)30.6%
14BromleyADJ_LA (99.2%)DARWIN (69.0%)30.2%
15HarrowKENTON WEST (95.9%)Wealdstone North (66.3%)29.6%
16East HertfordshireBishop's Stortford Thorley Manor (87.0%)Datchworth And Aston (57.9%)29.1%
17BarnetGOLDERS GREEN (98.6%)BO (69.7%)28.9%
18Waltham ForestLEYTON (99.1%)Valley (70.6%)28.5%
19KingstonNORBITON (97.3%)Chessington South & Malden Rushett (69.1%)28.2%
20HackneyCAZENOVE (99.2%)Stamford Hill West Ward (72.8%)26.4%
Check which ward your property is in →

Your council's approval rate is just the starting point

Two streets in the same ward can get opposite outcomes. The only thing that predicts your result is what's been decided near your property.

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The average ward gap across 196 councils is 13.7%. That means in a typical council, moving a few streets in one direction can shift your approval chances by 13.7%. Council averages don't capture this. Your postcode does.

All 196 Councils by Ward Variation

#CouncilGapBest Ward RateWorst Ward RateWards
1Islington93.0%95.1%2.1%44
2Barking & Dagenham41.5%99.6%58.1%23
3Greenwich38.5%97.8%59.3%41
4Liverpool36.4%98.4%62.0%56
5Havering35.9%99.2%63.3%41
6Cardiff35.4%85.8%50.4%10
7Brent34.8%99.3%64.5%43
8Hounslow34.7%99.0%64.3%69
9Enfield33.5%98.2%64.7%88
10Lewisham32.0%99.5%67.5%35
11Merton31.2%98.4%67.2%54
12Lambeth30.9%98.5%67.6%66
13Croydon30.6%98.8%68.2%50
14Bromley30.2%99.2%69.0%52
15Harrow29.6%95.9%66.3%45
16East Hertfordshire29.1%87.0%57.9%48
17Barnet28.9%98.6%69.7%65
18Waltham Forest28.5%99.1%70.6%37
19Kingston28.2%97.3%69.1%39
20Hackney26.4%99.2%72.8%38
21Sutton26.2%99.8%73.6%55
22Gloucester25.4%93.0%67.6%16
23Newham25.0%99.6%74.6%44
24City of Edinburgh24.8%98.2%73.4%35
25Sevenoaks24.6%92.8%68.2%26
26Trafford24.4%94.5%70.1%33
27Redbridge23.6%96.9%73.3%33
28Tower Hamlets23.6%99.5%75.9%38
29Basingstoke & Deane22.7%94.6%71.9%17
30Richmond22.7%99.4%76.7%54
31Ealing22.6%99.5%76.9%51
32Haringey21.7%98.8%77.1%42
33Windsor & Maidenhead21.2%92.6%71.4%19
34Bexley19.7%99.5%79.8%27
35Rutland19.7%94.1%74.4%19
36Manchester19.4%93.3%73.9%32
37North East Derbyshire19.1%96.7%77.6%23
38Middlesbrough19.0%88.7%69.7%13
39Sheffield18.8%96.0%77.2%21
40Maldon18.7%83.6%64.9%14
41Dorset18.6%98.1%79.5%45
42Oxford18.6%98.9%80.3%25
43Cheshire East18.5%96.1%77.6%45
44Westminster18.3%99.8%81.5%83
45Hillingdon18.2%86.5%68.3%43
46Pembrokeshire18.2%86.8%68.6%17
47Swansea17.6%92.4%74.8%8
48Hinckley & Bosworth17.5%98.8%81.3%16
49Lichfield17.4%94.4%77.0%10
50Flintshire17.3%95.9%78.6%25
51Slough17.3%91.3%74.0%9
52Sunderland16.7%94.9%78.2%25
53Camden16.1%98.3%82.2%48
54Hammersmith & Fulham16.0%99.7%83.7%41
55Leeds16.0%94.1%78.1%33
56Tameside15.6%94.2%78.6%18
57Bradford15.4%85.5%70.1%30
58Sefton15.4%92.1%76.7%21
59Newark & Sherwood15.2%93.3%78.1%21
60Guildford15.1%92.0%76.9%21
61Newport14.7%94.8%80.1%18
62Dudley14.5%96.4%81.9%48
63Warwick14.5%96.3%81.8%22
64Powys14.2%95.9%81.7%37
65Barnsley14.0%96.3%82.3%24
66Isle of Wight14.0%93.8%79.8%48
67Kingston upon Hull13.8%93.2%79.4%21
68Thurrock13.8%87.9%74.1%20
69Dartford13.7%95.5%81.8%19
70Wandsworth13.7%99.8%86.1%52
71Bath & NE Somerset13.6%97.9%84.3%41
72Lancaster13.5%96.2%82.7%14
73Oldham13.5%94.2%80.7%20
74Surrey Heath13.5%94.7%81.2%15
75Pendle13.3%92.3%79.0%12
76Hertsmere13.0%91.8%78.8%15
77Lewes & Eastbourne12.7%98.2%85.5%7
78Test Valley12.6%95.5%82.9%18
79Brentwood12.5%90.0%77.5%17
80Tewkesbury12.5%96.4%83.9%19
81Broadland12.3%98.1%85.8%16
82Southwark12.2%99.6%87.4%43
83Rushcliffe11.9%93.3%81.4%22
84Bassetlaw11.8%89.8%78.0%22
85Calderdale11.7%93.2%81.5%17
86Three Rivers11.6%96.9%85.3%11
87Castle Point11.5%90.1%78.6%11
88Chichester11.5%95.6%84.1%10
89Selby11.5%88.5%77.0%19
90Brighton & Hove11.4%95.0%83.6%13
91Cambridge11.4%96.2%84.8%31
92Coventry11.4%92.0%80.6%7
93East Ayrshire11.4%99.3%87.9%5
94East Lindsey11.4%99.1%87.7%32
95North Tyneside11.4%99.1%87.7%24
96Bristol11.3%90.4%79.1%34
97Bury11.1%95.9%84.8%17
98Rugby11.1%97.8%86.7%16
99Bolton11.0%92.2%81.2%15
100Ceredigion11.0%90.5%79.5%16
101North East Lincolnshire11.0%97.5%86.5%12
102South Downs11.0%99.3%88.3%34
103Babergh Mid Suffolk10.8%98.1%87.3%22
104Blaby10.8%97.9%87.1%9
105Fife10.8%96.6%85.8%17
106York10.7%97.1%86.4%21
107East Cambridgeshire10.6%93.3%82.7%17
108Chorley10.2%96.3%86.1%18
109Darlington10.2%97.5%87.3%8
110Kirklees10.2%90.3%80.1%23
111Exeter10.1%93.8%83.7%13
112New Forest10.1%93.2%83.1%16
113Gedling10.0%97.7%87.7%16
114North Somerset10.0%94.6%84.6%34
115Tonbridge & Malling10.0%95.9%85.9%26
116Derby9.8%98.1%88.3%17
117Nottingham9.8%98.2%88.4%20
118Swindon9.8%99.6%89.8%14
119Horsham9.6%97.5%87.9%22
120Plymouth9.6%96.1%86.5%20
121Pembrokeshire Coast NPA9.5%96.3%86.8%12
122South Gloucestershire9.5%92.2%82.7%28
123Doncaster9.4%96.0%86.6%21
124Luton9.4%95.0%85.6%16
125County Durham9.3%99.1%89.8%48
126Highland9.3%98.8%89.5%8
127Kensington & Chelsea9.3%99.3%90.0%34
128West Oxfordshire9.3%98.0%88.7%25
129Thanet9.1%94.3%85.2%23
130Hastings9.0%89.9%80.9%16
131Forest of Dean8.9%94.9%86.0%19
132Lake District NPA8.9%97.1%88.2%21
133Bromsgrove & Redditch8.6%95.3%86.7%3
134Wigan8.6%95.5%86.9%15
135Cotswold8.5%99.1%90.6%30
136Hart8.5%90.9%82.4%11
137Portsmouth8.5%91.8%83.3%14
138South Ribble8.3%98.9%90.6%15
139Argyll & Bute8.2%98.1%89.9%11
140Glasgow8.2%93.4%85.2%23
141Hambleton8.1%99.0%90.9%13
142West Lancashire8.1%98.1%90.0%27
143Cheltenham8.0%97.7%89.7%20
144Carlisle7.9%98.0%90.1%12
145Telford & Wrekin7.8%96.6%88.8%24
146Newcastle upon Tyne7.7%96.7%89.0%26
147Wakefield7.6%93.9%86.3%21
148Broxtowe7.4%97.5%90.1%17
149Adur & Worthing7.1%97.1%90.0%27
150Midlothian7.0%98.0%91.0%6
151Rotherham7.0%97.2%90.2%9
152Mid Sussex6.9%96.7%89.8%23
153Stockton-on-Tees6.8%99.2%92.4%7
154Epsom & Ewell6.6%90.3%83.7%13
155Winchester6.6%97.7%91.1%14
156Bolsover6.5%97.5%91.0%11
157Cannock Chase6.5%93.5%87.0%4
158King's Lynn & West Norfolk6.5%97.0%90.5%4
159Canterbury6.3%97.8%91.5%21
160Torfaen6.3%95.8%89.5%10
161Angus6.2%97.5%91.3%11
162Dover6.2%96.2%90.0%14
163Sandwell6.2%95.0%88.8%24
164Gateshead6.1%96.3%90.2%22
165Oadby & Wigston6.1%86.2%80.1%10
166Knowsley6.0%97.6%91.6%15
167City of London5.9%99.7%93.8%20
168Huntingdonshire5.9%98.4%92.5%21
169Lincoln5.9%98.7%92.8%11
170Melton5.8%98.6%92.8%15
171Reigate & Banstead5.7%92.0%86.3%15
172Torridge5.7%96.8%91.1%15
173Norwich5.6%94.9%89.3%13
174Solihull5.6%94.9%89.3%14
175Rushmoor5.5%99.0%93.5%13
176West Lothian5.4%93.7%88.3%9
177Perth & Kinross5.1%97.3%92.2%12
178Caerphilly5.0%86.4%81.4%5
179Derbyshire Dales5.0%96.1%91.1%13
180Mid Devon4.7%99.5%94.8%21
181South Norfolk4.7%98.9%94.2%19
182Stevenage4.7%96.0%91.3%13
183Gosport4.0%98.8%94.8%3
184North Norfolk4.0%98.2%94.2%5
185Clackmannanshire3.8%99.2%95.4%4
186Aberdeen3.7%96.4%92.7%13
187Mansfield3.1%99.4%96.3%7
188South Lanarkshire3.1%98.2%95.1%20
189Dartmoor NPA2.7%88.7%86.0%3
190Moray2.7%99.4%96.7%6
191Dumfries & Galloway2.6%99.2%96.6%13
192Dundee2.4%95.8%93.4%8
193Orkney2.4%97.7%95.3%6
194Shetland2.4%99.1%96.7%3
195Cornwall2.1%97.3%95.2%4
196Stirling1.6%96.0%94.4%7
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What the data tells us

1
Ward variation is often bigger than council variation. The gap between the UK's easiest and hardest councils might be 20 percentage points. The gap between wards within Islington alone is 93.0%.
2
Your postcode is the strongest predictor of outcome. Planning officers make decisions based on local character, precedent and neighbourhood context. Two identical proposals on different streets can get opposite outcomes.
3
National and council averages are starting points, not predictions. They tell you the landscape. The comparable decisions near your specific property tell you the story. That's what the PlanningLens free planning check is built to show you.

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

Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis analyses the decisions that actually matter — the ones within walking distance of your front door. Every decision links to the council record so you can verify it yourself.

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More national planning data

Methodology: Ward gaps calculated from 2,592,681 planning decisions across 196 councils, January 2020 to present. Only wards with 100+ decisions are included in gap calculations. Wards with 100% approval rates are excluded as likely small-sample anomalies. Councils with fewer than 500 total decisions are excluded. Ward boundaries reflect current electoral divisions as published by each council. See our full methodology →
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