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 8 August 2026.

#	Council	Total Apps	Approved	Refused	Pending
1	Cornwall	9638	1148	269	7038
2	Herefordshire	7231	3412	230	3380
3	Buckinghamshire	6577	477	278	5799
4	Leeds	6196	2954	500	2652
5	Dorset	6169	3533	279	2177
6	Richmond	5886	3028	433	2330
7	Wiltshire	5799	1551	142	3933
8	Westminster	5181	683	82	4384
9	Barnet	4772	686	269	3730
10	BCP	4457	2201	281	1891
11	Bristol	4002	930	177	2838
12	South Cambridgeshire	3995	1392	80	2414
13	Ealing	3836	1120	238	2413
14	Birmingham	3631	1003	319	2194
15	Southwark	3444	816	31	2571
16	Babergh Mid Suffolk	3418	1816	132	1394
17	Bradford	3417	1156	222	2009
18	Kirklees	3410	668	140	2570
19	Manchester	3386	2043	387	840
20	West Northamptonshire	3378	1967	159	1167
21	Bromley	3363	1672	378	1288
22	Camden	3315	715	43	2523
23	South Downs	3233	1449	93	1612
24	Belfast City Council	3219	1779	49	1324
25	St Albans	3117	551	193	2321
26	Redbridge	3092	788	305	1970
27	Bath	3023	1498	68	1365
28	Edinburgh	3011	624	272	2082
29	Cheshire East	2916	134	88	2650
30	Mid Kent	2827	1097	135	1544
31	Mole Valley	2823	1251	451	1054
32	Lewisham	2746	1288	205	1095
33	Durham	2711	1002	59	1617
34	Brent	2672	1368	287	978
35	Cambridge	2596	646	50	1870
36	Wealden	2583	1471	178	846
37	Newry, Mourne and Down District Council	2557	890	64	1551
38	Cotswold	2547	1449	58	967
39	Harrow	2512	863	197	1389
40	Wandsworth	2493	224	78	2008
41	Croydon	2487	1209	271	986
42	Enfield	2460	468	153	1820
43	Guildford	2449	776	133	1507
44	Haringey	2449	724	92	1610
45	East Riding	2411	1344	107	880
46	South Gloucestershire	2356	324	141	1850
47	North Hertfordshire	2328	630	66	1614
48	Greenwich	2283	993	188	1053
49	South West Devon	2281	440	126	1620
50	Test Valley	2272	438	50	1696

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.