Highest planning approval rates by council 2026
Which UK councils approve the most planning applications? Rankings based on approval percentage from the last 12 months of decided applications.
Applications registered 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. Updated November 2026.
Councils ranked
385
Highest rate
99.6%
Average rate
87.3%
Lowest rate
47.1%
| # | Council | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Isles | 99.6% |
| 2 | Hampshire | 99% |
| 3 | Kent | 98.8% |
| 4 | South Ayrshire | 98.5% |
| 5 | North Kesteven | 97.8% |
| 6 | Surrey | 97.3% |
| 7 | Essex | 97.1% |
| 8 | Shetlands | 97% |
| 9 | Broads | 96.9% |
| 10 | Cardiff | 96.7% |
| 11 | City of London | 96.7% |
| 12 | Hartlepool | 96.7% |
| 13 | Gosport | 96.5% |
| 14 | South Ribble | 96.2% |
| 15 | North Lanarkshire | 96% |
| 16 | Fermanagh and Omagh | 95.9% |
| 17 | Richmondshire | 95.9% |
| 18 | Tewkesbury | 95.8% |
| 19 | Mid Devon | 95.5% |
| 20 | Inverclyde | 95.5% |
| 21 | East Ayrshire | 95.5% |
| 22 | Clackmannanshire | 95.5% |
| 23 | Rhondda | 95.3% |
| 24 | North York Moors | 95.3% |
| 25 | Renfrewshire | 94.9% |
| 26 | Loch Lomond | 94.8% |
| 27 | St Helens | 94.7% |
| 28 | North Warwickshire | 94.7% |
| 29 | Tunbridge Wells | 94.7% |
| 30 | South Tyneside | 94.6% |
| 31 | Falkirk | 94.5% |
| 32 | Canterbury | 94.3% |
| 33 | New Forest (Park) | 94.2% |
| 34 | East Suffolk | 94.2% |
| 35 | Basingstoke | 94.1% |
| 36 | Anglesey | 94.1% |
| 37 | Hambleton | 94.1% |
| 38 | Mid Ulster | 94% |
| 39 | Fareham | 94% |
| 40 | West Oxfordshire | 94% |
| 41 | Norwich | 93.9% |
| 42 | Oldham | 93.9% |
| 43 | Aberdeenshire | 93.8% |
| 44 | Derry and Strabane | 93.8% |
| 45 | Nottingham | 93.8% |
| 46 | Monmouthshire | 93.8% |
| 47 | Exmoor | 93.8% |
| 48 | Darlington | 93.6% |
| 49 | Castle Point | 93.6% |
| 50 | North East Derbyshire | 93.6% |
| 51 | Guernsey | 93.5% |
| 52 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 93.5% |
| 53 | Dacorum | 93.4% |
| 54 | Fylde | 93.4% |
| 55 | Amber Valley | 93.4% |
| 56 | Midlothian | 93.3% |
| 57 | North Lincs | 93.3% |
| 58 | Armagh Banbridge Craigavon | 93.3% |
| 59 | Neath | 93.2% |
| 60 | Belfast | 93.1% |
| 61 | Bath | 93.1% |
| 62 | Stockton-on-Tees | 93% |
| 63 | North Norfolk | 93% |
| 64 | Mansfield | 93% |
| 65 | Lisburn and Castlereagh | 92.9% |
| 66 | Blaby | 92.8% |
| 67 | Lewes | 92.8% |
| 68 | Barnsley | 92.8% |
| 69 | Durham | 92.7% |
| 70 | Ipswich | 92.5% |
| 71 | Ards and North Down | 92.4% |
| 72 | Scilly Isles | 92.4% |
| 73 | North Ayrshire | 92.4% |
| 74 | South Somerset | 92.4% |
| 75 | Highland | 92.3% |
| 76 | Causeway and Glens | 92.3% |
| 77 | Erewash | 92.3% |
| 78 | South Oxfordshire | 92.3% |
| 79 | Snowdonia | 92.3% |
| 80 | Cheltenham | 92.2% |
| 81 | Shropshire | 92.2% |
| 82 | South Norfolk Broadland | 92.1% |
| 83 | Derbyshire | 92.1% |
| 84 | South Kesteven | 92% |
| 85 | Sunderland | 91.9% |
| 86 | Angus | 91.9% |
| 87 | Sedgemoor | 91.9% |
| 88 | Ryedale | 91.9% |
| 89 | South Lanarkshire | 91.9% |
| 90 | Southwark | 91.9% |
| 91 | North East Lincs | 91.8% |
| 92 | Newark and Sherwood | 91.8% |
| 93 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 91.7% |
| 94 | Tamworth | 91.7% |
| 95 | Cotswold | 91.6% |
| 96 | North Somerset | 91.6% |
| 97 | Yorkshire Dales | 91.6% |
| 98 | Dundee | 91.6% |
| 99 | Herefordshire | 91.5% |
| 100 | North Hertfordshire | 91.5% |
| 101 | Vale of White Horse | 91.5% |
| 102 | Derbyshire Dales | 91.4% |
| 103 | Worcester | 91.3% |
| 104 | West Northamptonshire | 91.3% |
| 105 | Newry Mourne Down | 91.3% |
| 106 | Dumfries | 91.3% |
| 107 | Babergh Mid Suffolk | 91.3% |
| 108 | Boston | 91.3% |
| 109 | Thanet | 91.2% |
| 110 | Redcar and Cleveland | 91.2% |
| 111 | Lincoln | 91.1% |
| 112 | Isle of Man | 91.1% |
| 113 | Dover | 91.1% |
| 114 | North Yorkshire | 91% |
| 115 | Cambridge | 90.9% |
| 116 | Winchester | 90.9% |
| 117 | Bolsover | 90.8% |
| 118 | Copeland | 90.8% |
| 119 | East Dunbartonshire | 90.8% |
| 120 | Preston | 90.6% |
| 121 | Allerdale | 90.6% |
| 122 | Orkney | 90.6% |
| 123 | Bridgend | 90.6% |
| 124 | Knowsley | 90.6% |
| 125 | West Suffolk | 90.6% |
| 126 | Merton | 90.5% |
| 127 | Wokingham | 90.5% |
| 128 | Stockport | 90.5% |
| 129 | Wrexham | 90.5% |
| 130 | Melton | 90.3% |
| 131 | Crawley | 90.3% |
| 132 | Havant | 90.3% |
| 133 | Gwynedd | 90.3% |
| 134 | Rushcliffe | 90.3% |
| 135 | Westmorland and Furness | 90.3% |
| 136 | Aberdeen | 90.3% |
| 137 | Eastleigh | 90.2% |
| 138 | Stirling | 90.1% |
| 139 | Rugby | 90.1% |
| 140 | Jersey | 90.1% |
| 141 | Moray | 90.1% |
| 142 | Wyre Forest | 90.1% |
| 143 | Newcastle under Lyme | 90.1% |
| 144 | Wakefield | 90.1% |
| 145 | Camden | 90.1% |
| 146 | Bromsgrove Redditch | 90.1% |
| 147 | South Cambridgeshire | 90% |
| 148 | Haringey | 90% |
| 149 | Stevenage | 89.9% |
| 150 | Wiltshire | 89.9% |
| 151 | Bristol | 89.9% |
| 152 | Mid Sussex | 89.9% |
| 153 | Merthyr Tydfil | 89.8% |
| 154 | Sevenoaks | 89.8% |
| 155 | Horsham | 89.7% |
| 156 | Adur and Worthing | 89.7% |
| 157 | Torridge | 89.6% |
| 158 | West Lindsey | 89.6% |
| 159 | North Devon | 89.4% |
| 160 | Tonbridge | 89.4% |
| 161 | East Lindsey | 89.4% |
| 162 | Carlisle | 89.3% |
| 163 | East Cambridgeshire | 89.2% |
| 164 | Richmond | 89.1% |
| 165 | Forest of Dean | 89.1% |
| 166 | Stratford on Avon | 89% |
| 167 | Sefton | 89% |
| 168 | Rushmoor | 88.9% |
| 169 | Gedling | 88.9% |
| 170 | Dorset | 88.9% |
| 171 | Hart | 88.8% |
| 172 | Rochford | 88.8% |
| 173 | Cherwell | 88.8% |
| 174 | East Renfrewshire | 88.8% |
| 175 | Broxtowe | 88.7% |
| 176 | Ceredigion | 88.7% |
| 177 | Torfaen | 88.6% |
| 178 | East Hampshire | 88.6% |
| 179 | Denbighshire | 88.6% |
| 180 | Basildon | 88.5% |
| 181 | Bracknell | 88.4% |
| 182 | Reigate | 88.4% |
| 183 | Kirklees | 88.4% |
| 184 | Waverley | 88.4% |
| 185 | North Tyneside | 88.4% |
| 186 | Chester | 88.3% |
| 187 | Plymouth | 88.3% |
| 188 | Breckland | 88.3% |
| 189 | South Derbyshire | 88.2% |
| 190 | Southampton | 88.2% |
| 191 | Isle of Wight | 88.2% |
| 192 | Warwick | 88.2% |
| 193 | Cannock Chase | 88.1% |
| 194 | Rossendale | 88.1% |
| 195 | Peak District | 88% |
| 196 | Swindon | 88% |
| 197 | Blackburn with Darwen | 88% |
| 198 | South Downs | 88% |
| 199 | South Gloucestershire | 87.9% |
| 200 | New Forest (District) | 87.9% |
| 201 | Harborough | 87.8% |
| 202 | Huntingdonshire | 87.8% |
| 203 | Trafford | 87.7% |
| 204 | Gateshead | 87.7% |
| 205 | Eastbourne | 87.7% |
| 206 | Tandridge | 87.6% |
| 207 | Mid East Antrim | 87.5% |
| 208 | Exeter | 87.5% |
| 209 | Hinckley and Bosworth | 87.5% |
| 210 | Harlow | 87.4% |
| 211 | Bexley | 87.4% |
| 212 | East Riding | 87.4% |
| 213 | South West Devon | 87.4% |
| 214 | Solihull | 87.4% |
| 215 | Test Valley | 87.4% |
| 216 | Sheffield | 87.3% |
| 217 | Colchester | 87.2% |
| 218 | Blaenau Gwent | 87.1% |
| 219 | Hull | 87.1% |
| 220 | Rochdale | 87.1% |
| 221 | Islington | 87.1% |
| 222 | Ashford | 87.1% |
| 223 | Woking | 87.1% |
| 224 | East Staffordshire | 87% |
| 225 | Oxford | 87% |
| 226 | Brentwood | 87% |
| 227 | Arun | 87% |
| 228 | Bradford | 86.9% |
| 229 | Old Oak Park Royal | 86.9% |
| 230 | Wandsworth | 86.9% |
| 231 | Derby | 86.8% |
| 232 | Chesterfield | 86.8% |
| 233 | Blackpool | 86.7% |
| 234 | Tower Hamlets | 86.7% |
| 235 | North Northamptonshire | 86.6% |
| 236 | Welwyn Hatfield | 86.6% |
| 237 | Fenland | 86.5% |
| 238 | Kings Lynn | 86.5% |
| 239 | East Lothian | 86.4% |
| 240 | Folkestone and Hythe | 86.2% |
| 241 | Antrim and Newtownabbey | 86.2% |
| 242 | Epsom and Ewell | 86.2% |
| 243 | Chorley | 86.2% |
| 244 | BCP | 86.2% |
| 245 | Glamorgan | 86.2% |
| 246 | Guildford | 86.1% |
| 247 | Wirral | 86.1% |
| 248 | Kensington | 86% |
| 249 | Rutland | 86% |
| 250 | Pendle | 85.9% |
| 251 | Surrey Heath | 85.9% |
| 252 | Wolverhampton | 85.8% |
| 253 | Telford | 85.7% |
| 254 | Maldon | 85.7% |
| 255 | Northumberland (County) | 85.6% |
| 256 | Chelmsford | 85.6% |
| 257 | Swansea | 85.6% |
| 258 | Chichester | 85.5% |
| 259 | Great Yarmouth | 85.4% |
| 260 | Three Rivers | 85.2% |
| 261 | Rother | 85.2% |
| 262 | Medway | 85.2% |
| 263 | Bury | 85.2% |
| 264 | Southend | 85.1% |
| 265 | Westminster | 85.1% |
| 266 | Mid Kent | 85% |
| 267 | Sutton | 85% |
| 268 | Hillingdon | 84.9% |
| 269 | Peterborough | 84.8% |
| 270 | Manchester | 84.8% |
| 271 | Birmingham | 84.8% |
| 272 | Mendip | 84.7% |
| 273 | Nuneaton | 84.6% |
| 274 | Carmarthenshire | 84.6% |
| 275 | Thurrock | 84.5% |
| 276 | St Albans | 84.5% |
| 277 | Pembroke Coast | 84.5% |
| 278 | Leicester | 84.4% |
| 279 | Warrington | 84.4% |
| 280 | Wealden | 84.3% |
| 281 | Sandwell | 84.2% |
| 282 | Malvern Hills | 84.2% |
| 283 | Burnley | 84.1% |
| 284 | Tendring | 84% |
| 285 | South Holland | 84% |
| 286 | West Lancashire | 84% |
| 287 | Ealing | 83.9% |
| 288 | Wigan | 83.8% |
| 289 | East Devon | 83.7% |
| 290 | Spelthorne | 83.7% |
| 291 | Edinburgh | 83.6% |
| 292 | Tameside | 83.6% |
| 293 | Wyre | 83.6% |
| 294 | York | 83.5% |
| 295 | Wychavon | 83.5% |
| 296 | Hyndburn | 83.5% |
| 297 | Caerphilly | 83.5% |
| 298 | South Staffordshire | 83.4% |
| 299 | Bassetlaw | 83.4% |
| 300 | Rotherham | 83.4% |
| 301 | Teignbridge | 83.3% |
| 302 | Stafford | 83.2% |
| 303 | West Berkshire | 83.1% |
| 304 | Calderdale | 83% |
| 305 | Hertsmere | 83% |
| 306 | Brecon Beacons | 83% |
| 307 | Lake District | 82.8% |
| 308 | Runnymede | 82.7% |
| 309 | Lewisham | 82.7% |
| 310 | Broxbourne | 82.7% |
| 311 | Glasgow | 82.6% |
| 312 | West Somerset | 82.6% |
| 313 | Selby | 82.4% |
| 314 | Milton Keynes | 82.2% |
| 315 | Middlesbrough | 82.1% |
| 316 | Ashfield | 82.1% |
| 317 | Portsmouth | 82% |
| 318 | Stroud | 82% |
| 319 | Watford | 82% |
| 320 | Hackney | 81.9% |
| 321 | Salford | 81.9% |
| 322 | Lancaster | 81.8% |
| 323 | Reading | 81.6% |
| 324 | Leeds | 81.3% |
| 325 | Kingston | 81.3% |
| 326 | Coventry | 81.2% |
| 327 | Cheshire East | 81.2% |
| 328 | Powys | 81.1% |
| 329 | Gloucester | 81% |
| 330 | Flintshire | 80.9% |
| 331 | Dudley | 80.9% |
| 332 | Torbay | 80.8% |
| 333 | Taunton Deane | 80.6% |
| 334 | Gravesham | 80.5% |
| 335 | Newham | 80.3% |
| 336 | Redbridge | 80% |
| 337 | Bolton | 79.9% |
| 338 | Fife | 79.9% |
| 339 | Uttlesford | 79.6% |
| 340 | Mole Valley | 79.6% |
| 341 | Doncaster | 79.5% |
| 342 | Lichfield | 79.4% |
| 343 | Dartmoor | 79.3% |
| 344 | Buckinghamshire | 79.3% |
| 345 | Greenwich | 79.2% |
| 346 | Dartford | 79.1% |
| 347 | Central Bedfordshire | 79% |
| 348 | Bromley | 79% |
| 349 | Pembrokeshire | 78.9% |
| 350 | Luton | 78.6% |
| 351 | Lambeth | 78.6% |
| 352 | Croydon | 78.6% |
| 353 | Halton | 78.3% |
| 354 | Havering | 78.3% |
| 355 | Epping Forest | 78.3% |
| 356 | West Lothian | 78.3% |
| 357 | Hounslow | 78.2% |
| 358 | Conwy | 78.1% |
| 359 | Cornwall | 78% |
| 360 | Waltham Forest | 77.8% |
| 361 | Brent | 77.7% |
| 362 | Elmbridge | 77.6% |
| 363 | Stoke on Trent | 77.5% |
| 364 | Hastings | 77.3% |
| 365 | Bedford | 77.3% |
| 366 | East Hertfordshire | 77.3% |
| 367 | Charnwood | 77.1% |
| 368 | Enfield | 76.6% |
| 369 | Windsor | 76.4% |
| 370 | Newport | 75.6% |
| 371 | Oadby and Wigston | 75.5% |
| 372 | Perth | 75.5% |
| 373 | Barking and Dagenham | 75.4% |
| 374 | North West Leicestershire | 75% |
| 375 | Scottish Borders | 74.8% |
| 376 | Slough | 74.8% |
| 377 | West Dunbartonshire | 74.7% |
| 378 | Barnet | 74% |
| 379 | Liverpool | 73.5% |
| 380 | Walsall | 73.3% |
| 381 | Harrow | 72.2% |
| 382 | Argyll | 71.2% |
| 383 | Ribble Valley | 64.3% |
| 384 | High Peak | 62.2% |
| 385 | Staffordshire Moorlands | 47.1% |
Last updated: 11 November 2026
Planning permission approval rates vary significantly across UK local planning authorities. While most planning applications are ultimately approved nationally, some councils grant consent at notably higher rates than others. This can reflect differences in pre-application advice quality, local planning policy, the mix of application types received, or the level of speculative development pressure in the area.
Local planning authorities with very high planning application approval rates often have strong pre-application processes that filter out unviable proposals before formal submission. These councils typically offer good pre-application advice, helping applicants refine schemes to meet local plan policies before committing to a full planning application. Conversely, areas with lower planning permission approval rates may face more contentious development pressure, have stricter local development policies, or receive a higher proportion of speculative or substandard applications.
These planning application decision statistics cover all application types decided by UK councils, including full planning applications, householder extensions, listed building consents, change of use, and discharge of conditions. Only local planning authorities with at least 50 decided applications in the last 12 months are included to ensure the approval rate percentages are statistically meaningful.