Most Planning Applications by Council

Which UK councils receive the most planning applications? Total application volumes ranked over the last 24 months.

Data covers the most recent 24-month period. Rankings are based on 200 councils that meet minimum data thresholds for statistical significance. Last updated 15 May 2026.

#	Council	Total Apps	Approved	Refused	Pending
1	Herefordshire	6669	3655	242	2549
2	Cornwall	5350	606	154	3867
3	Wiltshire	4575	1215	119	3113
4	Richmond	4574	2677	380	1424
5	Leeds	4478	2317	391	1699
6	Dorset	4438	2714	237	1350
7	Buckinghamshire	3970	197	131	3629
8	BCP	3404	1799	229	1305
9	Ealing	3186	1038	247	1837
10	West Lindsey	3031	1551	162	1271
11	Westminster	2985	370	46	2550
12	Birmingham	2860	777	236	1762
13	Barnet	2815	498	183	2069
14	Bath	2605	1374	55	1085
15	West Northamptonshire	2550	1357	81	1060
16	Cheshire East	2543	112	81	2309
17	Babergh Mid Suffolk	2511	1349	97	1006
18	Bristol	2488	654	131	1668
19	Mole Valley	2448	1186	396	809
20	South Downs	2351	1017	62	1223
21	Southwark	2348	786	26	1510
22	Wandsworth	2181	240	97	1695
23	Manchester	2145	1165	201	708
24	Kirklees	2139	414	90	1616
25	South Cambridgeshire	2103	896	47	1098
26	Redbridge	2062	681	264	1094
27	Kensington	2039	946	54	891
28	Hounslow	1994	1097	148	638
29	Haringey	1973	660	84	1205
30	Bromley	1966	843	183	927
31	Greenwich	1964	915	192	805
32	East Riding	1865	1096	98	600
33	Mid Kent	1860	725	85	1011
34	Lewisham	1851	986	152	583
35	Vale of White Horse	1850	1179	56	580
36	St Albans	1769	307	128	1299
37	East Suffolk	1762	778	37	906
38	Stockport	1733	818	60	840
39	Wealden	1721	893	104	668
40	Bradford	1700	723	143	818
41	Havering	1692	313	1	1347
42	Croydon	1691	947	241	483
43	Durham	1688	744	44	872
44	Edinburgh	1668	414	182	1047
45	Hillingdon	1657	854	120	648
46	Camden	1614	324	20	1255
47	West Suffolk	1606	889	52	585
48	Kings Lynn	1593	835	83	612
49	Waverley	1585	962	120	462
50	Guildford	1577	659	111	775

Understanding Application Volumes

The number of planning applications received by a council reflects the level of development activity and interest in its area. Higher volumes can indicate economic growth, housing demand, or significant regeneration activity. London boroughs and other urban authorities typically handle the largest workloads.

Application volumes include all types submitted through the formal planning process: full planning applications, householder applications for extensions and alterations, listed building consents, advertisement consents, tree works notifications, discharge of conditions, and lawful development certificates, among others.

Tracking volume trends over time helps identify emerging development hotspots. A sustained increase in applications often precedes a period of construction activity by 12 to 18 months, making this data valuable for market analysis.

What Drives Application Numbers

Several factors influence the number of applications a council receives: population size, economic conditions, housing market activity, the availability of development land, and the maturity of local plan allocations. Councils with recently adopted local plans containing new housing allocations often see application spikes as developers bring forward allocated sites.