Most planning applications by council 2026

Which UK councils receive the most planning applications? Total application volumes ranked over the last 12 months.

Applications registered 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. Updated November 2026.

Councils ranked

414

Total applications

542,199

Highest volume

8,898

Top council

Westminster

Map of the UK showing most planning applications by council for each council — Darker councils have higher figures. London is shown enlarged.

Most planning applications by council
#	Council	Total apps	Approved	Refused	Pending
1	Westminster	8,898	5,920	799	1,939
2	Buckinghamshire	8,708	1,002	232	7,444
3	Cornwall	8,094	2,398	126	5,021
4	Leeds	6,196	3,852	775	1,459
5	Edinburgh	5,495	1,973	281	3,135
6	Barnet	5,331	2,850	843	1,479
7	Dorset	5,099	3,277	243	1,411
8	Wiltshire	4,789	3,261	169	1,163
9	Enfield	4,500	2,884	807	735
10	Northumberland (County)	4,248	2,939	305	816
11	Kensington	4,232	2,917	162	842
12	Richmond	4,029	2,759	288	933
13	Ealing	3,967	2,790	457	643
14	Wandsworth	3,938	2,651	287	886
15	Camden	3,867	2,663	157	910
16	BCP	3,838	2,569	319	859
17	Southwark	3,763	2,636	148	894
18	South Downs	3,548	1,207	88	2,176
19	Babergh Mid Suffolk	3,546	1,589	94	1,805
20	Lambeth	3,483	2,186	468	702
21	Redbridge	3,456	2,288	531	596
22	Bristol	3,338	1,571	142	1,590
23	Shropshire	3,304	317	17	2,960
24	Greenwich	3,303	2,049	442	716
25	Brent	3,261	2,025	503	656
26	Croydon	3,125	2,038	507	531
27	East Riding	3,103	610	49	2,405
28	Herefordshire	3,095	2,057	103	848
29	Haringey	3,091	2,299	214	536
30	East Suffolk	3,060	517	17	2,511
31	Hounslow	3,041	1,887	428	629
32	Mid Kent	3,039	673	83	2,247
33	Lewisham	3,024	1,929	278	692
34	Islington	2,975	1,741	178	976
35	Sheffield	2,921	1,274	143	1,462
36	Chester	2,917	1,644	102	1,056
37	Birmingham	2,912	2,216	315	298
38	Bromley	2,867	1,655	422	772
39	Hillingdon	2,866	2,012	276	496
40	Highland	2,863	685	18	2,121
41	North Yorkshire	2,796	700	50	2,027
42	Kirklees	2,770	1,723	198	821
43	South Cambridgeshire	2,722	902	45	1,720
44	Durham	2,670	594	30	2,029
45	South Norfolk Broadland	2,647	563	17	2,036
46	Fife	2,646	941	56	1,468
47	Bath	2,608	1,704	50	777
48	South Gloucestershire	2,591	677	64	1,821
49	Havering	2,588	1,222	287	1,028
50	Harrow	2,570	1,268	404	813
51	Uttlesford	2,545	803	182	1,536
52	Hammersmith and Fulham	2,535	1,023	40	1,441
53	Bradford	2,525	611	89	1,822
54	Hackney	2,517	1,456	262	740
55	Waltham Forest	2,492	1,456	377	620
56	Kingston	2,440	1,569	291	510
57	Windsor	2,436	443	101	1,856
58	Newham	2,428	1,515	265	542
59	Oxford	2,417	835	78	1,457
60	Guildford	2,417	1,496	182	680
61	West Berkshire	2,411	823	96	1,421
62	Manchester	2,352	1,350	177	760
63	West Northamptonshire	2,345	1,466	103	740
64	Cotswold	2,336	1,253	65	968
65	Merton	2,327	1,367	117	817
66	Horsham	2,310	821	71	1,395
67	North Norfolk	2,308	1,450	43	749
68	North Somerset	2,299	1,590	108	563
69	York	2,294	790	110	1,348
70	Stockport	2,275	600	50	1,612
71	Tower Hamlets	2,222	1,463	165	535
72	Liverpool	2,201	289	79	1,808
73	Bexley	2,190	1,457	180	523
74	Trafford	2,181	515	72	1,594
75	Wealden	2,170	1,270	175	664
76	Sevenoaks	2,165	501	48	1,607
77	West Oxfordshire	2,126	1,369	46	669
78	St Albans	2,056	1,006	138	865
79	North Hertfordshire	2,049	1,393	107	527
80	West Suffolk	2,038	604	21	1,371
81	Cheshire East	2,029	108	18	1,896
82	East Hertfordshire	1,977	1,075	211	586
83	Mid Sussex	1,974	886	48	988
84	Cambridge	1,973	789	47	1,105
85	East Devon	1,921	796	74	970
86	Stroud	1,909	1,279	159	349
87	Glasgow	1,904	1,064	150	616
88	Reigate	1,890	1,268	119	456
89	Aberdeenshire	1,880	638	10	1,200
90	Central Bedfordshire	1,864	678	99	1,006
91	Canterbury	1,861	1,361	34	418
92	Elmbridge	1,836	850	219	741
93	Sutton	1,818	1,062	164	568
94	Epping Forest	1,818	719	176	900
95	South West Devon	1,806	1,136	100	506
96	Cherwell	1,805	1,013	88	664
97	Test Valley	1,792	967	59	685
98	North Northamptonshire	1,790	324	27	1,416
99	Chelmsford	1,788	1,120	165	480
100	Kings Lynn	1,776	1,037	81	577
101	Dacorum	1,748	1,194	55	470
102	Sefton	1,739	1,208	93	381
103	Cheltenham	1,730	1,189	40	441
104	Medway	1,716	1,060	121	472
105	Hertsmere	1,713	1,059	160	437
106	South Oxfordshire	1,702	1,173	66	431
107	Tunbridge Wells	1,697	852	30	797
108	Belfast	1,683	837	41	784
109	Swansea	1,675	528	78	1,058
110	City of London	1,667	1,143	2	485
111	Tendring	1,666	653	97	889
112	Isle of Wight	1,663	1,074	81	445
113	Winchester	1,658	1,136	44	408
114	Dumfries	1,651	735	39	846
115	Tonbridge	1,640	955	51	572
116	Harborough	1,637	714	64	824
117	Stratford on Avon	1,632	1,101	75	395
118	Solihull	1,631	1,100	137	372
119	Waverley	1,629	808	76	715
120	Huntingdonshire	1,628	481	37	1,080
121	South Somerset	1,620	1,099	50	430
122	Barking and Dagenham	1,609	767	233	592
123	Bolton	1,602	900	206	476
124	Three Rivers	1,601	664	70	822
125	Plymouth	1,584	1,060	77	384
126	Chichester	1,575	513	60	975
127	Doncaster	1,554	377	28	1,080
128	Derby	1,544	551	66	909
129	Wychavon	1,512	901	125	433
130	Nottingham	1,508	905	45	543
131	Hart	1,487	509	42	914
132	Swindon	1,485	872	52	494
133	Warwick	1,483	962	66	392
134	Mendip	1,467	392	54	1,004
135	Cardiff	1,464	412	7	1,038
136	Basingstoke	1,460	480	16	950
137	Sandwell	1,447	460	61	901
138	Newark and Sherwood	1,445	948	53	412
139	Brighton and Hove	1,443	44	0	1,398
140	Argyll	1,435	333	4	967
141	Surrey Heath	1,434	944	116	335
142	South Kesteven	1,433	438	21	957
143	Coventry	1,427	571	101	724
144	Wigan	1,414	767	109	499
145	Woking	1,403	955	142	306
146	Newcastle upon Tyne	1,395	583	30	759
147	Calderdale	1,378	474	79	807
148	Perth	1,359	480	66	723
149	Vale of White Horse	1,352	892	44	377
150	Lancaster	1,345	554	83	668
151	Epsom and Ewell	1,326	940	133	236
152	Scottish Borders	1,297	80	4	1,190
153	Mole Valley	1,292	709	152	401
154	Dover	1,259	346	23	879
155	Newry Mourne Down	1,258	221	18	1,016
156	Westmorland and Furness	1,257	705	48	476
157	Wakefield	1,246	281	27	934
158	Adur and Worthing	1,246	878	71	267
159	Aberdeen	1,222	649	41	503
160	Slough	1,218	557	150	473
161	South Lanarkshire	1,215	861	51	278
162	East Staffordshire	1,201	802	94	279
163	Bromsgrove Redditch	1,200	480	43	667
164	Rutland	1,199	838	95	225
165	Teignbridge	1,198	597	99	481
166	Charnwood	1,196	502	86	545
167	Warrington	1,180	566	87	509
168	Luton	1,162	762	185	193
169	Exeter	1,161	825	86	218
170	Peterborough	1,152	632	61	407
171	Causeway and Glens	1,146	528	18	574
172	Breckland	1,140	348	25	746
173	East Cambridgeshire	1,139	592	35	475
174	Welwyn Hatfield	1,134	786	86	226
175	West Lancashire	1,125	688	109	306
176	East Lindsey	1,116	598	44	447
177	Brentwood	1,108	728	80	271
178	Rotherham	1,105	719	75	243
179	Wokingham	1,104	707	56	323
180	Chorley	1,103	658	77	340
181	Bassetlaw	1,096	347	57	680
182	North Tyneside	1,089	660	73	342
183	Arun	1,088	414	32	612
184	Oldham	1,087	724	37	316
185	Wolverhampton	1,085	163	9	895
186	Basildon	1,082	717	67	272
187	Armagh Banbridge Craigavon	1,076	512	19	527
188	Runnymede	1,066	695	129	226
189	Milton Keynes	1,062	615	110	314
190	Mid Ulster	1,062	551	15	476
191	West Lindsey	1,057	649	49	333
192	Thurrock	1,036	606	94	319
193	New Forest (District)	1,030	718	76	213
194	North West Leicestershire	1,026	165	11	806
195	Tameside	1,015	708	103	168
196	Wirral	1,014	445	58	497
197	Folkestone and Hythe	1,008	715	80	179
198	New Forest (Park)	1,008	680	26	286
199	Spelthorne	998	420	66	496
200	Lake District	990	547	63	329
201	North Kesteven	988	310	4	671
202	Gravesham	987	594	128	249
203	Stockton-on-Tees	978	521	9	418
204	Tandridge	971	177	19	769
205	Rushcliffe	963	493	33	417
206	Bury	961	684	91	158
207	Tewkesbury	960	523	19	414
208	Torbay	960	395	76	471
209	North Lanarkshire	953	483	12	450
210	Dartford	950	576	138	222
211	Fermanagh and Omagh	948	656	9	264
212	Forest of Dean	947	472	25	417
213	Mid Devon	940	535	12	380
214	Maldon	936	538	77	308
215	Darlington	923	586	26	297
216	South Staffordshire	923	579	89	229
217	Southampton	922	336	34	541
218	Malvern Hills	916	542	64	272
219	Peak District	915	324	27	547
220	Ashford	913	552	46	279
221	Wyre Forest	912	409	30	458
222	East Hampshire	910	234	18	646
223	St Helens	890	179	6	701
224	Dudley	886	482	88	290
225	Reading	885	461	47	320
226	Torridge	882	251	12	602
227	Southend	876	401	61	405
228	Fenland	875	565	77	222
229	Broxbourne	875	291	38	523
230	Eastleigh	866	620	50	179
231	North Devon	865	330	22	496
232	Norwich	856	650	23	164
233	Isle of Man	856	573	46	227
234	Monmouthshire	855	586	24	230
235	Carmarthenshire	855	208	35	609
236	Gateshead	853	477	48	309
237	Fareham	850	673	14	134
238	Watford	850	309	63	473
239	Ards and North Down	849	489	20	320
240	Flintshire	835	487	51	233
241	Lisburn and Castlereagh	833	407	11	395
242	Wyre	832	315	45	455
243	Thanet	830	479	32	305
244	East Lothian	814	280	9	490
245	Stafford	814	173	28	606
246	Broxtowe	814	583	56	157
247	North East Lincs	811	304	14	480
248	Jersey	809	574	33	172
249	Newcastle under Lyme	807	581	42	162
250	Derbyshire Dales	796	159	11	622
251	South Ribble	793	600	17	169
252	Salford	787	393	62	307
253	Antrim and Newtownabbey	782	445	49	266
254	Mid East Antrim	779	525	54	179
255	Hinckley and Bosworth	774	468	39	239
256	Glamorgan	772	488	48	206
257	Sunderland	768	171	13	582
258	Caerphilly	763	237	47	479
259	Chesterfield	761	387	46	315
260	Dundee	759	380	13	344
261	Bedford	751	395	103	240
262	Sedgemoor	737	569	28	118
263	Rugby	736	383	24	311
264	West Lothian	736	433	96	183
265	Newport	736	170	45	511
266	Gedling	730	408	32	271
267	Hull	727	264	26	424
268	Leicester	722	405	70	242
269	South Holland	721	226	37	452
270	South Ayrshire	719	337	5	377
271	Renfrewshire	717	537	15	151
272	Lichfield	716	477	105	115
273	Derry and Strabane	715	334	13	359
274	Gloucester	711	282	56	363
275	Lincoln	694	514	40	130
276	Melton	691	252	16	412
277	Rhondda	686	387	17	280
278	Colchester	681	348	45	282
279	Rother	677	271	38	359
280	Blaby	672	480	17	155
281	Carlisle	667	442	30	172
282	South Derbyshire	664	165	13	477
283	Amber Valley	663	197	3	452
284	Ashfield	661	247	46	360
285	Staffordshire Moorlands	659	112	37	421
286	East Dunbartonshire	625	426	12	156
287	East Renfrewshire	618	237	23	351
288	Pendle	612	250	27	321
289	North Lincs	603	180	9	410
290	East Ayrshire	599	401	10	179
291	Pembrokeshire	597	326	68	184
292	Rochdale	596	392	42	146
293	Lewes	595	454	32	106
294	Telford	594	372	25	160
295	Midlothian	592	208	10	369
296	Redcar and Cleveland	590	340	12	217
297	Ribble Valley	582	157	27	338
298	Mansfield	580	384	28	167
299	Stirling	579	137	1	427
300	Taunton Deane	571	154	21	380
301	Neath	562	385	12	149
302	Angus	562	262	9	277
303	Stoke on Trent	554	210	53	283
304	Powys	552	240	45	256
305	Moray	548	264	3	255
306	High Peak	547	244	29	155
307	Rushmoor	541	376	27	118
308	Gwynedd	538	214	18	301
309	Bracknell	538	268	21	235
310	Harlow	536	188	21	321
311	Hastings	532	321	67	117
312	Stevenage	528	313	24	180
313	Barnsley	526	285	13	219
314	Hambleton	525	222	5	289
315	Crawley	524	280	21	214
316	Allerdale	523	358	13	128
317	North Ayrshire	518	315	10	177
318	Blackburn with Darwen	513	227	7	255
319	North Warwickshire	506	285	10	205
320	Richmondshire	502	234	10	258
321	Ipswich	500	136	7	353
322	Yorkshire Dales	497	272	10	200
323	Bridgend	497	221	10	253
324	Conwy	497	268	59	154
325	Ceredigion	496	267	24	195
326	Castle Point	493	307	21	165
327	North York Moors	493	345	9	131
328	Anglesey	485	286	10	181
329	Falkirk	481	137	3	336
330	Guernsey	479	347	20	108
331	Portsmouth	468	82	13	368
332	Knowsley	462	288	27	144
333	Worcester	456	327	19	98
334	North East Derbyshire	451	102	6	342
335	Havant	449	280	22	139
336	Pembroke Coast	448	201	27	210
337	Rossendale	442	289	29	114
338	Boston	426	188	14	220
339	Ryedale	425	159	13	252
340	Denbighshire	406	217	20	161
341	Walsall	400	181	53	153
342	Hyndburn	399	248	40	102
343	Western Isles	393	279	1	113
344	Brecon Beacons	385	185	16	162
345	Harrogate	379	42	5	330
346	Middlesbrough	368	179	32	150
347	Selby	367	131	19	208
348	Bolsover	360	248	20	87
349	Oadby and Wigston	350	197	57	89
350	Halton	347	170	24	130
351	Great Yarmouth	341	117	12	204
352	Erewash	335	228	17	88
353	Copeland	333	119	1	202
354	Blackpool	326	196	26	100
355	Dartmoor	326	169	30	113
356	Shetlands	322	129	1	189
357	Cannock Chase	321	208	20	85
358	Rochford	319	159	15	140
359	Orkney	318	173	4	127
360	Preston	311	126	12	172
361	Torfaen	309	203	12	80
362	Barrow	301	14	2	282
363	Gosport	296	110	2	182
364	Cairngorms	289	7	0	281
365	Eastbourne	288	192	23	69
366	Snowdonia	281	191	11	74
367	Wrexham	279	152	10	111
368	Merthyr Tydfil	260	185	17	54
369	Inverclyde	257	170	4	79
370	Loch Lomond	248	55	1	190
371	Fylde	236	71	1	160
372	Tamworth	234	143	3	78
373	Broads	228	94	1	131
374	Burnley	227	116	15	89
375	West Somerset	221	152	16	37
376	Clackmannanshire	218	105	2	108
377	Hartlepool	213	58	2	153
378	South Tyneside	211	122	4	82
379	Essex	197	133	3	60
380	Old Oak Park Royal	178	106	7	56
381	Exmoor	172	105	6	60
382	Blaenau Gwent	170	88	7	69
383	West Dunbartonshire	163	74	0	64
384	Surrey	157	108	1	46
385	Nuneaton	131	55	4	66
386	Hampshire	122	97	1	24
387	Leicestershire	112	32	0	79
388	Derbyshire	111	58	5	48
389	Kent	105	81	0	23
390	Oxfordshire	103	48	0	54
391	Suffolk	90	20	0	70
392	Alderney	87	4	0	83
393	Scilly Isles	77	61	5	11
394	Staffordshire	74	33	3	38
395	Norfolk	72	30	4	37
396	Cambridgeshire	69	27	0	41
397	Lancashire	68	19	0	45
398	Energy Consents Unit	62	16	0	46
399	West Sussex	62	19	0	42
400	Lincolnshire	61	41	4	15
401	Northumberland (Park)	57	38	4	11
402	Craven	51	39	6	4
403	Nottinghamshire	42	23	0	19
404	Gloucestershire	41	5	0	36
405	Somerset	36	14	0	22
406	East Sussex	24	20	0	3
407	Warwickshire	24	10	0	14
408	Devon	22	9	0	12
409	Cumbria	22	12	0	10
410	Worcestershire	18	16	0	2
411	Hertfordshire	16	5	0	11
412	NI Strategic Planning	12	1	0	11
413	NSIP England	7	0	0	7
414	East Northamptonshire	1	0	1	0

Last updated: 11 November 2026

Planning application volumes are driven by a mix of population size, economic activity, housing demand, and local planning authority policy. London boroughs and large metropolitan authorities typically handle the highest volumes of planning applications, though some smaller district councils with significant development pressure can also rank highly in total applications submitted.

The total planning application count includes all application types decided or received by each local planning authority: full planning applications, householder extensions and alterations, listed building consents, tree works, discharge of planning conditions, prior approval notifications, and more. Some busy UK councils receive over a thousand planning applications per month.

Tracking planning application volumes across UK councils over time helps identify areas experiencing development booms or slowdowns. Rising planning application numbers often precede construction activity by 12 to 18 months, making this data valuable for developers, investors, and infrastructure planners assessing where the development pipeline is most active.

More UK planning statistics

Highest planning approval rates by council Slowest planning councils in the UK Planning appeals by council Housing development hotspots UK planning application trends

Search planning applications in these councils

Set up alerts and get notified when new applications are submitted. Free to start.