UK planning approval statistics

A national overview of planning approval rates based on 2,672,205 real decisions across 242 councils. The data behind the headlines.

Last updated: May 2026

Key findings

The average planning approval rate across the 242 councils in our dataset is 90.0%. The strictest council, Uttlesford, approves just 72.4% of applications, while the most permissive, Dacorum, approves 99.7%.

This 27.3 percentage point gap means that the same application could face very different odds depending on which council area it falls in. Location is one of the strongest indicators of planning outcomes.

Approval rate by application type (national average)

Distribution of approval rates

Councils cluster around the 90.0% average, but the tails are significant. 0 councils have approval rates below 70%, meaning nearly a third or more of applications are refused. 137 councils approve 90% or more.

Browse by council